The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Russell admits to feeling bad for Cardiff kicker as Warriors are let off the hook
Frustrating night for Glasgow ends with Cardiff kicker handing them victory
CARDIFF BLUES 19 GLASGOW WARRIORS 20
Finn Russell confessed his heart bled for Blues’ Steve Shingler after he let the Warriors out of jail.
Former Scotland target Shingler made a hash of an easy penalty in the dying seconds at the Arms Park. But a relieved Russell refused to gloat over his opposite number’s moment of agony.
The Glasgow playmaker declared: “These kicks are simple in training – but when it comes to that stage in big games they are the hardest.
“I felt sorry for him – I wouldn’t have wanted to be in his shoes.
“It was a very tough encounter and it was a case of grinding out a win.”
The slender success took the Warriors to three out of three in the revamped Pro14.
Henry Pyrgos and Lee Jones scored tries for Glasgow with Russell converting both and adding two penalties.
And Test star Russell added: “It had been a very frustrating night for us.
“We kept on making mistakes and we couldn’t build up much pressure because the Cardiff set-piece was very strong. But in the conditions and circumstances, we’ll take it.”
Coach Dave Rennie said: “We created a lot of opportunities but didn’t hang on to the ball long enough.
“We’re always going to strive to be better.
“There’s no doubt that when we held on to the ball and went through a number of phases we caused problems.
“That was our mind-set, to try and play an up-tempo game but there were too many handling errors and turn-overs.
He said: “Our first try by Henry Pyrgos was from a counter attack.
“We spend a lot of time on that part of our game and the guys did well to reload on the short side and were pretty clinical.
“At the other score, Finn did well and so did Lee Jones to stay alive to reach the line.
“We made a number of line breaks and were often one pass away, but credit to Cardiff for keeping us out.”
Russell and Shingler were caught up in a personal duel with the boot.
And both were in pinpoint form – until Shingler’s miss.
Blues boss Danny Wilson refused to point the finger.
He said: “It’s one of those things. I’m not going to be critical of Shings because he had kicked extremely well earlier.
“All I can look back on is the performance and execution and effort.
“That was a strong Glasgow side full of quality internationals, especially in their backline and we were very close to nicking it.”