WILTING WARRIORS
Score flatters Glasgow who can’t last pace as La Rochelle deliver them a French lesson that damages cup ambitions
GLASGOW WARRIORS head coach Danny Wilson slammed his side for making too many unforced errors as they passed up a golden opportunity to automatically qualify for the knockout stages of the Heineken Champions Cup.
With just a win required to ensure progression, the Warriors ultimately had no answer to the high-tempo game played by a La Rochelle side that dominated for most of the match.
Wilson’s men still have an outside chance of making the latter stages but now require other results to go their way.
The home side did rally slightly just after half-time but a one-point advantage was quickly overturned, with Glasgow finding themselves 16 points behind ten minutes later.
The visitors were down to 13 men at the final whistle after two of their players were yellow-carded during which time Glasgow scored two tries to give the false impression they were ever in the game. Just an eight-point defeat flattered Glasgow, who were poor.
It was a bad day at the office for top Glasgow players such as British and Irish Lion Ali Price, who never got going. There were no leaders on the park and too many errors and bad decision-making.
Wilson said: ‘Spirit should be a given for us. The boys came out for the second half and scored some nice tries and so on, but ultimately we came up a little bit short. We gifted the opposition too much. There was loads of endeavour and effort from the boys but ultimately our own errors cost us tonight.
‘I think the breakdown was an issue for us. We got turned over a number of times. I thought our choice of tackles at times was poor.
‘We went quite high against a team who can carry up the field and get momentum and ended up with us getting stuck at the wrong end of the pitch, especially in the first half.
‘The second half was better but there were huge swings from errors which gave them points.We’ll see what happens tomorrow (Sunday) and see what it means for us moving forward in terms of qualification.’
La Rochelle started the stronger with their captain Gregor Alldritt being held up just short.
Glasgow were lucky not to concede a penalty try in just four minutes when their captain Fraser Brown infringed at the breakdown and stopped a try being scored. He was yellow-carded but had no points awarded against him by English referee Karl Dickson. In Brown’s absence, scrum-half Price was the man given the responsibility of throwing into the line out.
Although they were a man down, Glasgow opened the scoring with a Ross Thompson penalty from in front of the posts but their lead didn’t last for long with the leftfooted Pierre Popelin levelling.
Strong Glasgow defending stopped the visitors scoring any more points when Brown was off the park. The French side was showing all their flair with fly-half Popelin putting an irresistible kick over the top that he gathered but couldn’t score from.
He managed to retain the ball and his team kept it for 20 phases and pulled Glasgow all over the park. Their discipline in attack was rewarded with centre Raymond Rhule stretching over just enough to score in the corner. Popelin put over the extras.
In their first attacking move, Glasgow managed to put three points on the board through Thompson after the French were caught offside. They went up the other end straight from the restart with Glasgow full-back Josh McKay just managing to touch down ahead of Brice Dulin to stop a certain try.
The game had been so open and the ball in hand so much that the first scrum came 28 minutes in. It was followed by the first attacking run for Glasgow, from winger Kyle Steyn, who showed his team-mates how it should be done.
The French were caught offside as they tried to stop him, which allowed Thompson to put over his third penalty of the game.
Glasgow should have scored a try two minutes before the break but it was ruined after poor decisionmaking from McKay. He had Steyn outside him in the 22 but for reasons best known to himself he cut inside into traffic rather than give it to his unmarked winger and the chance had gone.
It was a costly error as the French side went up the other end and scored a try in the last play of the half. From a line out the visitors put together a driving maul that led to Paul Boudehent going over for an unconverted try.
Glasgow made the perfect start to the second half with a superb try two minutes in. From a counter-attack from the kick-off, Zander Fagerson gathered before Thompson made a break from deep. He had McKay on his shoulder and his pass allowed his full-back a clear run in to score. Thompson put over the extras.
Their one-point lead only lasted three minutes after Matt Fagerson fell off an attempted tackle on hooker Pierre Bourgarit, who went over to score. Popelin put over the conversion.
Sam Johnson gave away a penalty that Popelin put over as the French side went nine points up.
They went further ahead when a Glasgow attack fell to bits due to bad handling in the home midfield. The ball popped out wide and fell
into the grateful hands hands of winger Pierre Boudehent. The Popelin conversion increased the lead as did a successful penalty.
With 12 minutes left, La Rochelle captain Alldritt was sent to the sin bin after a serious of infringements by his team. With him off, the home side butchered the chance of another try when George Turner dropped the ball in the tackle.
The French outfit were down to 13 men after Dillian Leyds was yellowcarded, which allowed Glasgow a late try through replacement Ollie Smith, converted by Duncan Weir.
Warriors allowed the visitors an easy penalty that Ihaia West put over. And in the last play, Smith scored again, converted by Weir.