Glasgow marching on after Filise gets red card

GLASGOW recovered from 10-0 down to defeat 14-man Cardiff Blues at Scotstoun on Friday night and make it 10 wins in a row in the PRO14.

The Welsh side were down a man for 51 minutes after tighthead prop Taufa’ao Filise was red-carded for a shoulder to the head of Warriors’ hooker George Turner.

And the hosts took advantage to get the six-try victory and stay well out on top of Conference A.

Warriors head coach Dave Rennie said: “It was a slow start, but we fought our way back in and the red card had a little bit of an influence and I think the guys then thought it would be easier and we lacked that edge from recent outings.”

Blues head coach Danny Wilson added: “The directives would suggest a shoulder to the head is a dangerous tackle and the guy went off with a head injury so I understand that but I do think it’s a harsh red.”

An early penalty from Blues’ stand-off Jarrod Evans and then a converted try by second row Macauley Cook had them up 10-0.

Warriors got on the board in the 19th minute when a perfectly-hit crossfield kick by stand-off Pete Horne landed right in the arms of centre Sam Johnson who went over for a converted try.

A second Evans penalty made it 13-7 before referee Nigel Owens, after consulting the TMO, sent off Filise, above, who at 40 is

the oldest player in the PRO14. A try by centre Alex Dunbar converted by Horne made it 14-13 to Glasgow at half-time.

The Blues clearly felt a bit hard done-by and regrouped after the interval because the 14 men got the first points of the second half on the board.

They came in the shape of a penalty in the 47th minute from Evans, but soon back row Olly Robinson was yellow-carded for killing the ball.

With energetic replacements George Horne and Niko Matawalu now on, Glasgow full-back Ruaridh Jackson slid in at the corner and Horne kept up his great night with the boot to make it 21-16.

With 13 minutes to go replacement Samu Vunisa, the 29-year-old Italian international, went over on his home debut to secure the bonus point.

The icing on the cake came for the Warriors thanks to late tries by winger Leonardo Sarto and Matawalu.