King George gets the fifth...

Late try saves day but Rennie’s not happy with level

GLASGOW head coach Dave Rennie feels his team will need to step up another two levels to seal a Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final place after being made to work all the way in a five-try win over Cardiff. Brandon Thomson’s impressive kicking in high winds at Scotstoun were the difference with nine minutes left as Blues cut the gap to four points by equalling Glasgow’s four-try total.

But replacement George Horne capitalised on some intense pressure to cross and seal a 33-24

victory and give Warriors a chance of taking top spot in Pool 3 when they travel south to face Saracens on Saturday.

Glasgow’s 19-point tally – four behind Saracens – leaves them as the second-placed side with the best record.

The three best runners-up join the five group winners in qualifying and the losers of the Pool 2 decider between Munster and Exeter cannot beat Glasgow’s total.

Pool 5 leaders Edinburgh can secure quarter-final places for both Scottish teams for the first time if they beat second-placed Montpellier at Murrayfield.

But Rennie said: “With Ulster winning, we think we will need more points next weekend.

“Our mates down the road can do us a favour if they win on Friday night but we have got to go with the mindset that we need to win – try and win the pool. If we prepare that way I think we will front well so it’s not a bad thing that we still think we need more.

“It’s another couple of rungs up, isn’t it? You have got to defend really well against Saracens so we will need the same sort of intensity we played with a few months back and be a bit more clinical with ball in hand than we were that day, but we have got it within us and we are looking forward to it.”

Warriors lost Matt Fagerson (shoulder) and Callum Gibbins (knee) to injury inside 10 minutes but turned the screw with two tries in six minutes either side of the halfhour mark through Grant Stewart and Scott Cummings to go 14-0 ahead.

Rennie said: “Difficult conditions, and I’m really rapt with our men up front. Our scrum and our maul were excellent and paved the way.”