Rennie relieved as Warriors banish Blues
Warriors shook off the rust to snuff out the Blues and break their Pro14 duck.
But they failed to fully capitalise on their dream start at Scotstoun and let a bonus point slip from their grasp.
Dave Rennie’s troops had surged into a 14-0 lead before Cardiff had even touched the ball.
However, a combination of slack defence and sloppy option-taking allowed the visitors to stay in the race.
Supremo Rennie revealed he was “relieved rather than delighted” in the wake of the victory over Cardiff.
He said: “We had a great start – then let them back in with a soft try.
“They also were on top in the clear-cut battle, so we have lots to work on there.
“We did have other opportunities but failed to snap them up – however a win is a win and we managed to hang on.”
Glasgow opened with a powerful run into enemy territory by Nick Grigg.
They spurned a pot at goal to opt for a penalty lineout – and the gamble paid off when skipper Callum Gibbins was driven over.
Brandon Thomson added the conversion from a tricky angle.
Grigg was back in the spotlight two minutes later to create a brilliant score for Nick Frisby – Thomson again finding the target.
Blues quickly repaired some of the damage with a clever Aled Summerhill touchdown, goaled by Jarrod Evans.
Evans then stepped up the revival with a pinpoint penalty midway through the half.
Glasgow came back into the contest in the build up to the interval, but they wasted a series of chances.
They eased the jitters just after the restart, however, via the boot of Thomson – only to see Evans reply in identical style at the other end.
Despite earning the bulk of possession and territory for the remainder of the tussle, they couldn’t force another breakthrough.
■ Edinburgh coach Richard Cockerill looked back on Friday’s Dublin defeat and told his men they must turn chances into points.
Champions Leinster surged to a 40-14 success, despite being hit by two yellow cards.
And Cockerill declared: “I have complaints about losing – but we should have taken better options and earned a point.
“When their guys were in the sin-bin we did not play smart and scoring only one try during that period was crucial.
“We did create sufficient opportunities to put a very strong Leinster side under more pressure.”