Van der Merwe leads way in Glasgow’s 10-try rout

Winger scores twice on return as visitors are buried

DTH van der Merwe scored twice on his return to Scotstoun as Glasgow thrashed hapless Zebre in the Guinness PRO14.

It was a completely one-sided contest as the Warriors ran in 10 tries – including six in the first half – to take a 16-point lead at the top of Conference A and virtually guarantee a home semi-final.

It was Van der Merwe who was the star on his return to Glasgow. The winger re-signed for the Warriors last week following a three-year absence and was not slow to make an impact.

The fan favourite scored twice, while Adam Hastings was irrepressible at flyhalf and Ruaridh Jackson also grabbed a brace in a thumping win.

The Italians could not cope with the ferocious pace Glasgow set in the early stages, and they were made to pay after overplaying inside their own 22.

A wayward Zebre pass ended up in the hands of the hosts and before long they had camped themselves on the try line.

The ball eventually made its way to Hastings and the fly-half threw a looping pass into the hands of Van der Merwe who raced into the corner.

There was no respite for the Zebre defence as five minutes later some quick-thinking from Henry Pyrgos opened up the field and after exchanging offloads with Sam Johnson, he eventually found Jackson who made it 14-0 in 12 minutes after Hastings had added the extras.

The game was as good as over after 24 minutes as again Zebre were overly ambitious in possession, allowing Jones to hack on to a loose ball before he was cynically brought down on the try line, leaving the referee with no choice but to award a penalty try and a yellow card for Carlo Canna, and the bonus point was secured before the half-hour mark.

Again it was Van der Merwe who raced through a gaping hole in midfield before diving extravagantly over the line in what was quickly becoming a rout.

Another Hastings break sent Pyrgos under the posts before Jackson touched down for a 40-0 lead at the break.

Jones added one of his own straight after the break after picking up from a Zebre ruck, but the visitors finally had something to cheer as Canna bundled over from close range.

That joy did not last long as tries from Zander Fagerson, Callum Gibbins and Lelia Masaga capped off a fine display.

Glasgow: Jackson (Masaga 48), L Jones, Grigg, Johnson (P Horne 60), van der Merwe, Hastings, Pyrgos (G Horne 72), Kebble (Bhatti 55), Turner (Stewart 58), Z Fagerson (Halanukonuka 65), Swinson (Mcdonald 65), Cummings, Harley, Gibbins (Fusaro 58), M Fagerson.

Zebre: Padovani (Parata 55), Di Giulio, Bordoli, Afamasaga, Venditti, Canna (Azzolini 60), Palazzani, Ah-nau (De Marchi 67) , Fabiani (D’apice 54), Bello (Tenga 60), Sisi, Krumov (Bernabo 47), Minnie (Sarto 41), Meyer, Tucker.

Referee: Craig Evans.

DT van der Merwe dives in for his second try on his first start since returning to Glasgow. Picture: SNS Group.