BUNGLING BENNETT DROPS BONUS BALL
SCOTLAND star Ma r k Bennett apologised to his Glasgow Warriors team-mates yesterday for the error that cost his side a bonus-point win.
The Scotland i nternational looked odds-on to score when he ran over the try-line unopposed. All he had to do was touch the ball down but somehow managed to lose his grip as he attempted to put it down with one hand.
As t he crowd groaned in disappointment, referee Dudley Phillips was so surprised at such a basic handling error from the centre that he asked for a replay on the big screen and the views of the Television Match Official before ruling it out.
Bennett’s first-half error could yet have dire repercussions for the Warriors in the defence of the Pro12 title as every point will be precious in the league run-in.
Instead of a five-point bonus point win, they only came away with four after scoring three tries. The win saw them rise one place to seventh and level on points with rivals Edinburgh, with only the top four qualifying for the play-offs.
Warriors head coach Gregor Townsend was clearly frustrated that his team could not score one more try to secure a much-needed bonus point.
He was also furious that they allowed Cardiff to score three within the last eight minutes when the wheels really came off for the home side.
And he believed that the home team’s tries, from Gordon Reid, Tim Swinson and Simone Favaro, were scant return for their early dominance.
‘ Mark put his hand up and apologised in the dressing room,’ said Townsend.
‘The game itself was, overall, a missed opportunity to score more tries, definitely.
‘We showed, at times, in the first half what we’re capable of but, although we were 20-0 up at the break, we went in frustrated that we didn’t score more than just two tries.’
Townsend was unhappy that his side f ailed to build on their half-time lead and let themselves down by making basic errors and allowing the ball to be turned over too many times.
‘We weren’t accurate enough in the second half and we turned the ball over unforced 12 times, which is a dreadful amount,’ he said.
‘I think we turned over the ball about 22 times in total which is not good enough.
‘They ripped the ball off us a few times and we have to deal better with that way of defending.
‘We may have won, but we are disappointed and the crowd has every right to be, too.
‘To concede a few tries in the last couple of minutes and to end with the team playing poorer than it was at the beginning is not good enough.
‘Even if we had got the bonus point, which we should have, we would have been disappointed because we had not played as well as we can.’
Townsend has called on his team to be more consistent and to up their level of performance in their next two tricky league games.
‘We now have two tough games, both at home against Leinster and Ulster. both of them in the top five and going for play- off spots,’ he continued.
‘Players and coaches realise that if we play close to what we did today against Cardiff, we won’t win against Leinster.
‘Our accuracy and focus will have to be much better in the next game. We will also have to play much better to have a chance of making the end- of- season playoffs and defending our title.’
Townsend had every right to be critical, especially after Glasgow had started superbly with a try from Gordon Reid followed by a conversion and penalty f rom Duncan Weir before Bennett’s shocking try-scoring miss.
It seemed to affect the rest of the team and they struggled to regain their composure. It took them until a minute before half-time to score their second try through Swinson, with Weir again kicking over for the extras.
Even when Rhys Patchell put over a penalty before the hour mark, it still looked like an easy Glasgow win was on the cards.
When the visitors had Aled Summerhill yellow- carded for taking Peter Murchie out in the air and Favaro crashed over f or Glasgow’s third converted try, it looked like a fourth touchdown was within reach.
However, the opposite happened, with Dan Fish and Ellis Jenkins scoring Cardiff tries followed by a yellow card for Glasgow’s Scott Cummings.
The Welsh outfit’s third and final converted try in the last play before the final whistle gave the visitors a losing point that never l ooked on t he c ards until Glasgow’s late capitulation.
GLASGOW WARRIORS — Tries: Reid, Swinson, Favaro. Cons: Weir 3. Pens: Weir 2. CARDIFF BLUES — TRIES: Fish, Jenkins, Cook. Con: Patchell. Pen: Patchell.