DRAGON SLAYERS
Five-star Glasgow bounce back but Wilson wants more
IN seeking to right the wrongs of a painful, self-inflicted defeat to Benetton last weekend, Glasgow Warriors did exactly what was asked of them.
They scored five tries under the Saturday night lights at Scotstoun, putting the Dragons to the sword and claiming a morale-boosting bonus-point victory.
The restorative effect this should have on their confidence will be gratefully received by head coach Danny Wilson, as greater tests loom on the immediate horizon.
Warriors will take on the might of La Rochelle and Exeter Chiefs over the next fortnight in the Heineken Champions Cup.
Not so much a step up as an entire staircase. If that sounds harsh on Dragons, then it should be noted that they failed to score a point until the 66th minute last night.
Glasgow won this match largely in second gear. Had it not been for some inaccuracies in attack, they could have put a half-century of points on the Welsh side.
But the home fans were treated to some good rugby at times, with No 8 Jack Dempsey excelling once again and Kiwi full-back Josh McKay impressing on his debut.
‘It was a good response to last week,’ said Wilson. ‘We needed a good home performance and five points. That was the aim and we got it.
‘I thought we played some good rugby and scored some good tries. However, the turnover rate was perhaps a little bit high and that is something we’ll look to improve.
‘No disrespect at all to Dragons, but I felt like we won whilst being a little bit under-par in some areas.
‘I think we probably had a lot more in us and there is a lot more to come.
‘But, overall, I’m pleased with the performance and pleased to get a bonus-point win at home.’
A minute’s silence was held prior to kick-off in memory of Siobhan Cattigan, the Scotland Women’s international who tragically passed away at the age of 26 last week.
The opening try arrived on 16 minutes when some good work from the Glasgow forwards allowed newly-capped Scotland centre Sione Tuipulotu to power over from close range.
Fly-half Ross Thompson, also handed a debut for the national team in the Autumn Nations Series, slotted the conversion to put the home side into a 7-0 lead.
Glasgow were now beginning to assert their authority and scored their second try of the night shortly before the half-hour mark.
The whole move began with an excellent line-break from new full-back McKay, his pace and sense of adventure stretching the Dragons defence.
Thompson then dinked a clever cross-field kick over into the corner for centre Kyle Steyn to collect the ball in acres of space and touch down.
Scorer of four tries for Scotland against Tonga in the autumn, Steyn is enjoying a real purple patch of form for club and country.
The more the match wore on, the more it became apparent that the Dragons had very little to offer as an attacking force.
Glasgow were winning comfortably without being anywhere near their best, with the third try arriving right on the cusp of half-time.
Dempsey was the scorer, a powerful run from the No 8 ripping through the heart of the Welsh defence. Thompson’s conversion was good as Glasgow went in leading 19-0 at half-time.
Glasgow emerged for the second half in search of a fourth try and aiming to wrap up the bonus point as quickly as possible.
But it was the Dragons who briefly flickered into life. On 53 minutes, Warriors new boy McKay had to make an outstanding last-ditch, try-saving tackle to deny Welsh fly-half Sam Davies.
Dempsey is rapidly proving himself to be a fans’ favourite at Scotstoun — and it was his powerful gallop upfield which created the platform for Glasgow’s bonus-point try on the hour-mark. Ali Price, who had a fine game at scrum-half, dived over and Thompson added the extras once again.
With the score now 26-0 in Glasgow’s favour, it had become painfully one-sided.
The Dragons finally got on the scoreboard with a consolation try on 66 minutes through hooker Ellis Shipp, but they were never in the match.
Glasgow got a fifth try, however, through replacement hooker Jonny Matthews to add a little more polish to the final scoreline, with Dragons’ Mesake Doge getting the final try of the night.