ANOTHER WON FOR THE ROAD
Glasgow back up their away-day success over Zebre with impressive Euro triumph in Bath
RATHER like London buses, Glasgow Warriors waited an eternity for an away win, only for two to arrive in double-quick time.
If last week’s triumph over a hapless Zebre in the United Rugby Championship was to be expected, this victory over Bath in the Challenge Cup was altogether more impressive.
Franco Smith’s men played with a sense of style and adventure, particularly in a first half which brought two tries inside the opening quarter of an hour.
But, vitally, this was a performance which had substance. Particularly in the second half, they had to dig deep and grind it out against their English Premiership rivals.
In the end, it was replacement fly-half Duncan Weir who kicked the match-winning penalty with just seven minutes left to play on a bitingly cold day at The Rec.
The win over Zebre was Glasgow’s first away victory of the season. Smith’s side backed it up in the best way possible against far tougher opposition.
There was much to be admired in these 80 minutes from the visitors and much to have warmed the cockles of all Warriors fans who were waiting for Smith’s reign to fully ignite.
Here was confirmation of a renewed sense of purpose and a positive direction of travel under the South African head coach, who could reflect on arguably the best win of his tenure thus far.
Glasgow scored all three of their tries in the first half through Lewis Bean, George Turner and Huw Jones, who was excellent on his second debut for the club.
The second half became a war of attrition and a test of mettle, but it was one which they passed in this opening game of their Challenge Cup campaign.
Having rested several key players, Smith was delighted to see his team register a second win away from home in successive weeks.
‘I’m glad we got this monkey of closing out games away from home out of the way,’ he said. ‘The mentality was excellent today.
‘We chose a different group of players. We tried to blend the various components and the guys responded exceptionally. For the whole squad, it’s a very important win. Suddenly there’s a bit of competition — that’s good, the squad has bought into the process from the start.
‘We left a lot of opportunities out there — there’s still a lot of hard work and learnings to take out of this game.
‘Managing players in this period is always difficult. It’s important that these guys stepped up.’
Glasgow made a flying start and scored the opening try after just four minutes. The move came from a scrum and it looked like Jones might score before he was hauled down just short.
But the ball was quickly recycled and Bean powered over from close range, with Domingo Miotti’s conversion sliding just wide of the posts.
The Warriors were dominant in the early stages and they notched their second try after quarter of an hour thanks to some terrific work from the forwards.
A lineout maul rumbled towards the line before hooker Turner eventually peeled off to score, with fly-half Miotti slotting the extras to put his team 12-0 ahead.
But Bath responded strongly and scored twice inside the space of seven minutes midway through the first half. Flanker Wesley White charged over for the first, albeit Piers Francis missed his conversion.
Lock Fergus Lee-Warner then scored a second for the English side and Francis made it a seven-pointer to tie up the scoreline at 12-12.
But Glasgow always looked dangerous in attack — and Jones marked his second debut for the club by scoring their third try on the cusp of half-time. It was a magnificent finish from the Scotland man, throwing a lovely dummy pass before bursting through a gap and shrugging off a couple of tackles to touch down.
Young scrum-half Jamie Dobie did really well to control the tempo of the attack, but it was Jones who, on his 50th appearance for Glasgow and the first of his second stint at the club, deserved the credit for a lethal finish.
Miotti nailed the conversion and Glasgow took a seven-point lead down the tunnel at 19-12. What a boost it will have been to see Jones back in this kind of form.
This was the first time he has played at outside centre since March, having been deployed more commonly at full-back at previous club Harlequins.
If he can maintain this sort of form and stay fit, then Jones will surely be in contention for the 13 jersey with Scotland at the Six Nations.
Glasgow’s lineout was key and Bean and his fellow lock JP du Preez made a couple of excellent steals at the start of the second half.
But Bean was sent to the sin bin on the hour mark as Bath’s pressure eventually told, with winger Matt Gallagher going over in the corner.
Francis kicked an outstanding conversion from out wide on the touchline to tie the scores at 19-19 as the game headed into the final quarter of an hour.
In the end, Glasgow were not to be denied. It was a grind at times, a test of defence, attitude and application. But there was no doubt they had played the better rugby.
They won a penalty with seven minutes left and, after a dispute about whether to go for goal or kick to the corner, the decision to take the points was vindicated as Weir slotted the ball between the posts.
That proved to be the decisive moment as the Warriors held on to
start their European campaign in the best way possible.
Warriors skipper Kyle Steyn said: ‘It definitely does (feel significant). We only picked up our first away win last week.
‘We knew that coming here to Bath in a different competition and backing it up would be huge. The manner we did it, I’m so proud of the boys.
‘In the last two weeks, we’ve lost Doddie Weir and Jim Taylor. Both unbelievable in the face of adversity.
‘That was big for us this week. With the new boys coming in, we leaned on that kind of energy.’ SCORERS; Bath — Tries: White, Lee-Warner, Gallagher. Cons: Francis 2. Glasgow — Tries: Bean, Turner, Jones. Cons: Miotti 2. Pen: Weir. Referee: Adrien Marbot (France).