Rennie glad to see Warrior spirit return

GLASGOW head coach Dave Rennie is a Kiwi with a steely focus on winning and the fact that his team barely got out of second gear in an attacking sense did not matter — after their forwards set the platform for a 17-0 victory over Edinburgh in the Guinness Pro14.

Having watched a last-gasp try snatch a win from his side at Murrayfield last week, Rennie admitted: ‘I’m happy with that. It wasn’t about being flash tonight. We wanted to earn a bit of respect back, to see some resolve, and I felt we got that.

‘We did a real good job up front and in the set-piece, played at the right end of the field and collected points from pressure, forcing them to play from a long way out.’

It was a poor game from a spectator’s point of view, with countless errors and missed chances, but Glasgow exploited Edinburgh’s lack of a finish, and a penalty count that rattled up to 19 against the visitors, as opposed to seven for the hosts.

‘We were not going to win this game or win this trophy by pick-and-go all day, so you have to play some footy,’ added Rennie. ‘We got a bit of ball stripped which was frustrating and we lost some from a couple of clean-outs, which the referee didn’t like, and he felt gave us an advantage.

‘But, overall, I thought the decision-making was better than the other day and we definitely showed more backbone. We were a lot better tonight and got the rewards.’

His Edinburgh counterpart Richard Cockerill was similarly sanguine and also questioned the refereeing of Mike Adamson at the breakdown. In truth, he too will be pointing the finger at his players’ lack of accuracy and consistency when he watches this one back.

He said: ‘I’m disappointed with the final score and a bit disappointed in the fact we created lots of opportunities, which is a real positive for us in our attacking game, and then we threw the ball away.

‘They’re a hard side to play here, but we came, fired some shots, put them under pressure and it’s not very often that the Warriors will be kicking for goal at 6-0 or 9-0 because they’re worried about the result. We’re starting to be a tough team to beat, with and without the ball, and we’re gaining some respect and some credibility.’

It is a measure of where both sides are that he may find more positives from the defeat than Rennie will in victory, but Cockerill is mindful of keeping expectations in check.

‘The 1872 (Cup) is important to some but the league points are more important to me,’ added Cockerill, ‘and that was a battle. We created as many opportunities as them and, coming into these games two weeks ago, you wouldn’t have expected that to be the case.

‘They are a better team than us, at the moment. We’re only halfway to where we can be and want to be.’