TO BE FRANC, BULLS HELPED WARRIORS WIN
GLASGOW .... 22 BULLS .... 17 STUART BATHGATE AT CALEDONIAN STADIUM
FRANCO SMITH praised Ayrshire Bulls “for bringing the fight” as he got his reign as Glasgow boss off to a winning start last night.
But the Warriors had to battle hard before just getting the better of the semi-pro Bulls.
Two late tries put Glasgow 12-3 up at the break and they stretched that lead after the break – before the Bulls briefly put the outcome in doubt.
And Smith said: “I must compliment them for bringing the fight to us. I want to thank them.
“I said to our boys they helped us a lot. The effort they put in actually helped.
“There was some really good stuff – we defended well in the first half, our scrum did well and we drove well. Our kicking game was OK, especially in the first half.
“Just on the attack side of things we didn’t finish our opportunities, it became a little bit unravelled. With a different team going on in the second half we had to start again.”
The Bulls were dealt an early blow when Bobby Beattie, one of several former Warriors in their ranks, went off injured. But they continued to take the game to Glasgow.
Warriors took the lead in the 30th minute. Clean ball was secured from a lineout five metres from the line and Johnny Matthews finished.
The Bulls narrowed the gap two minutes before half-time with a 40-metre penalty from Richie Simpson but Glasgow hit back with their second try, from George Horne.
Stand-off Domingo Miotti had missed the first conversion attempt but he was on target this time to make it 12-3 at the break.
The Warriors increased their lead 15 minutes after the restart, with Fraser Brown going over.
Joel Hodgson had taken over goal-kicking duties but his attempt went wide.
Just before the hour mark, Jack Dempsey got Glasgow’s fourth try, again unconverted.
The Bulls hit back with two late tries from Jamie Drummond and Will Hunt, who converted both.