LYON 22 WARRIORS 42
Rennie’s side show they can better Townsend’s
ANOTHER good weekend for Scotland’s pro teams in Europe saw both Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors take significant steps towards qualifying for the last eight of the Champions Cup. If they both make it, that would be an unprecedented achievement.
Edinburgh put a Newcastle Falcons outfit hamstrung by a dysfunctional scrum to the sword in truly awful weather conditions at Murrayfield on Friday night. Then, on Saturday afternoon, Glasgow Warriors turned on the style to run in five tries during an emphatic 22-42 win in Lyon.
With three games played and three to go in the pool stage of this Champions Cup campaign, Richard Cockerill’s side sit proudly at the summit of Pool Five, while Dave Rennie’s boys are in second place in Pool Three – four points adrift of Saracens but if they don’t make it as table-toppers, then they are brilliantly placed to make it into the knock-out phase as one of the best performing second-placed teams in the competition.
Warriors are back in action next Saturday lunchtime when they play their return match against Lyon at Scotstoun, while Edinburgh make the trip to Kingston Park on Sunday to face a Falcons side who desperately need to get something from the game to resuscitate their European ambitions.
1 Dave Rennie’s Glasgow Warriors can be as good as Gregor Townsend’s – and probably better
The gruff New Zealander has said from day one that he wants his team to exhibit a brutality in the way that they dispose of the opposition, but creating that mindset was easier said than done. Last season, their first under their new head coach, the Warriors got off to a flying start but failed to show up when it mattered most. This season, by contrast, they look sharper and smarter, and able to grind out games when their trademark free-flowing style isn’t working. Not that they needed to go that route on Saturday while showcasing their attacking prowess at its best. There is still a long way to go, and they remain prone to lapses of concentration in defence, but a bonus-point win in France is not to be sneezed at, and if they can repeat that against the same opponents at Scotstoun they will have one foot in the last eight of the competition.
2 George Horne is Scotland’s best attacking scrum-half
Greig Laidlaw will continue to be preferred as the starting No 9 for the national team because of his greater maturity, game management and leadership qualities, but judged purely on his individual play, and his ability to change the tempo and flow of a match with an electrifying burst of energy, Horne offers more of an all-round threat. His energy, stamina and desire to get back off the ground and into the game again means that any team he is selected for will be able to play at a tempo which opposition defences will struggle to cope with. As he grows in composure he is likely to become a fixture in the national team for a long time to come once next year’s World Cup is out of the way.
3 Adam Ashe is beginning to fulfil his vast potential
The 25-year-old’s selection ahead of co-captain Ryan Wilson raised a few eyebrows, but Dave Rennie’s choice was fully vindicated by an excellent, two-try performance from the No 8. After a couple of injury-affected seasons in which it looked like Ashe might fail to turn promise into achievement, he is not merely back to his previous best, but beginning to hit new heights. Let’s all hope that he can stay injury-free.