The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Rennie pleased by points haul
GLASGOW WARRIORS 21 LYON 10
Glasgow coach Dave Rennie refused to criticise his side after they beat Lyon on Saturday to maintain their bid for qualification to the knockout stages of the Champions Cup.
Using the wind well Glasgow led 18-3 at the break thanks to a brace of tries from winger Niko Matawalu sandwiching a pair of penalties from Adam Hastings, who also converted the second try.
Late pressure from Lyon produced a penalty from Jeanmarc Doussain, and with the wind they pulled back a try from Pierre-louis Barassi which was converted by Doussain.
A penalty from Hastings, who was later subject to a straight arm to the head from lock Etienne Oosthuizen who was red carded, saw Glasgow home.
Recognising that the match had been played in horrendous conditions of driving rain and a biting east wind that swept directly down the pitch, Rennie said: “It was tough conditions. I’m sitting in the coaches box in the dry and scratching my head over some of the errors, but in reality it was difficult.
“If I had known that we would get nine points from the doubleheader before we started I would have been pleased.”
Glasgow had made a smart start with a try in 50 seconds followed by another sandwiching a pair of Hastings penalties to lead 18-0.
Rennie said: ‘What we had talked about was make sure we won. Starting so well and getting a couple of tries from Niko Matawalu in the first 20 gave us a glimmer of bonus point hope.
“With the wind behind us we were trying to get play to the right end of the field. But we played without the ball for the last quarter-of-an-hour of the first half.
“In the second half we had pressure on their line late on, but probably going wide in those conditions wasn’t the best option.”
The injury demon struck Glasgow with hooker George Turner taken off on the stroke of half-time, a week after top hooker Fraser Brown had suffered a shoulder injury.