POCKET WAS PICKED

Price curses Glasgow hesitation over blown drop goal opportunity

TIMES have changed, thankfully, for Glasgow Warriors since the last time they visited Welford Road with European qualification on their minds.

In one of the most humiliating days in their history, they were destroyed 90-19 as Leicester Tigers ran in 14 tries in their European Cup quarter-final play-off match back in 1997.

Such a scoreline would, of course, be unthinkable come this Saturday.

Yet, Gregor Townsend’s team still face the difficult task of emerging victorious to make it through to the Champions Cup knock-out stage for the first time as one of the best second-placed finishers.

What is to their advantage is that Leicester Tigers will simply be playing for pride after their defeat to Racing 92 in Paris at the weekend ended any hopes they had of qualifying.

If Glasgow do progress, they will have done it the hard way after their two star turns, Stuart Hogg and Finn Russell, went from saints to sinners in a dramatic last nine minutes.

As the game reached its climax, the home side were 12-9 ahead thanks to four penalties — three from Russell and one long-range effort from Hogg — to three from Tyler Bleyendaal.

The game was there to be won but only for it to unravel when a clumsy and unnecessary high tackle, that was little more than a silly slap in the face of Andrew Conway, by Hogg led to a deserved yellow card for the Warriors full-back.

In his absence, Munster made full use of having the extra man to score the one and only try of the game to put them ahead for the first time in the match.

Winger Keith Earls stretched the Warriors defence, which allowed space in the corner for Francis Saili to dive over despite a valiant effort by Tommy Seymour.

But, Glasgow weren’t out of it as Russell had three great opportunities to put over what would have been a match-winning drop goal.

The Glasgow pack rumbled forward to set up a great position for him and, although he moved back into the pocket, he inexplicably dithered and the chance was gone.

Russell admitted later that he should have ‘taken a pop’ with scrum-half Ali Price making it clear he was ready and waiting for his call.

‘We wanted to have a bit of ball in their 22 and go through the phases,’ said Price. ‘We were confident we could break them down. I saw Finn back in the pocket and if the call was there I would have given it to him but in hindsight it’s easy to say that.

‘It is just one of those things and looking back now, maybe we should have had a crack but we were in the game and in the moment and we just carried on playing.

‘We eventually coughed up the ball but could we have taken a shot? Yes, I guess we could have.

‘At Glasgow, if we are in tight games we have a drop-goal routine or shape we form into and the boys are very aware of that. Maybe we should have gone into it.

‘That’s probably on me and Finn as half-backs to organise that but when we’re in their 22, I feel like we can break down any defence and ultimately get a try.’

Man-of-the-match Tim Swinson, who deserved his personal accolade even in defeat, said Russell had made an error not taking the drop goal attempt, but he would quickly shrug off his mistake and it would not affect him at Welford Road.

‘Finn is one of the most chilled out guys I have ever met,’ said the big second row. ‘I don’t think I have ever seen anything faze him. He can be a little bit frustrating at times but he is a real mercurial person and brilliant to play with.’

Townsend refused to criticise the game management of Russell and Price knowing that unless Henry Pyrgos recovers from a knee injury that kept him out of the Munster game, he will have to rely on them again at Welford Road.

‘Finn went back in the pocket and going for a drop goal was one option,’ he said. ‘Another was to keep playing and either force a penalty or get a try. It happened so quickly and Ali went to the forwards rather than pass it back to Finn.

‘However, the better team won.’