Glasgow Warriors moved up to third place in the RaboDirect PRO12 table with a gritty 19-9 win over Scarlets at Firhill on Thursday night.
A Jon Welsh try and 14 points from the boot of Ruaridh Jackson were enough to claim a vital success that represents another step on the road Sean Lineen’s men hope will ultimately lead to the end of season tournament play-offs.
The result was the product of another gutsy team performance, built on the unyielding foundations of a steadfast scrum, uncompromising work at the breakdown and relentless, accurate defence.
Amid all this endeavour, there were standout individual displays from captain and RaboDirect Man of the Match Graeme Morrison, second row Rob Verbakel, scrum-half Henry Pyrgos and that man Welsh, who excelled on his first start at tight-head.
Head coach Lineen said: “That was another terrific team effort from first to last. We put so much energy and aggression into the game, and deserved to come away from the win.
“It sets us up well for what will be another massive test away to Connacht next Saturday.”
A foggy Firhill was the setting for the showdown. With a chill in the air both teams took the field to fight it out in front of a crowd 2,665 strong.
In a squad boosted by the return of fly half Jackson from injury, as well as the return of several internationals, the Warriors were ready to settle the score after a narrow 16-14 reverse at Parc y Scarlets last month .
With the first quarter of the game dominated by kicking, the Scarlets had the first opportunity to take the lead, as the Warriors were penalised for not rolling away. There were tense moments as Scarlets full back Dan Newton stepped up to take the kick. However the pressure was short lived as he put it wide.
A few minutes later Glasgow had their chance to take the lead through a Jackson penalty, but he too missed, and the scoreboard remained blank.
Jackson redeemed himself a few minutes later as the Scarlets were penalised for coming in at the side, giving Warriors another chance to take the lead, directly in front of the posts and just in from the halfway line. This time the kick was good, taking the score to Glasgow 3 - 0 Scarlets.
The Scarlets responded with phases of attack, which failed to break through the line of black and blue, but they levelled matters at 3 -3 with a successful Newton penalty.
David Lemi was the star of the moment shortly afterwards as he gave fierce chase to a downfield kick that saw both he and Gareth Davies bundle the ball over the try line. Referee Nigel Owens took the decision to the TMO who judged that it was not a try. And the teams were brought back for a 5m scrum.
With the Warriors dominating the scrum inches from the line, Pyrgos broke away and drove towards the whitewash, supported by his forwards. The ball was bundled over the line with Welsh claiming the try. A successful conversion followed and the Warriors were once again in the lead, 10 -3.
With minutes to go before half-time, the Scarlets again forced wave after wave of attack, but the defence stood firm. Jackson had the opportunity to kick the Warriors 10 points clear, but nudged the kick wide.
HALF-TIME: GLASGOW WARRIORS 10-3 SCARLETS
The second half saw the Scarlets come out determined to bring themselves back into the game, and they were dominant in the opening 10 minutes, causing some anxious moments for the Warriors defence. The pressure was relieved when Liam Davies was penalised for holding on.
Lemi, once again demonstrating his speed, broke away through the Scarlets’ line and linked up with Chris Fusaro to rattle the Welsh side. The pair’s efforts saw the Warriors gain another three points, with a successful penalty from the boot of Jackson.
Scarlets responded minutes later as Dougie Hall infringed in the ruck. Newton’s kick took the score to 13 – 6.
Refreshed by several substitutions, the Scarlets once again went on the attack, getting the numbers on the ball and driving deep into the Warriors half.
Callum Forrester replaced Fusaro, who had a fantastic game working solidly in defence and attack, 56 minutes in, after the openside sustained a minor toe injury.
Newton took Scarlets to within four points of the Warriors going into the final quarter. This spurred Glasgow into a sustained period of attack with the pack heaving the ball forwards, making mincemeat of the Scarlets defence.
The efforts do not go unrewarded and they won the penalty as visiting captain Gareth Maule was penalised for not rolling away, Jackson took the opportunity and put Warriors 16 – 9 ahead.
With 70 minutes on the clock, Glasgow went 10 points clear, after Liam Davies was penalised and Jackson stepped up to do the business.
There the Warrriors remained to complete another good night’s work.
RaboDirect Man of the Match: Graeme Morrison
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Peter Murchie; 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Troy Nathan, 12 Graeme Morrison (c), 11 David Lemi; 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Henry Pyrgos; 1 Ryan Grant, 2 Dougie Hall, 3 Jon Welsh, 4 Rob Verbakel, 5 Tom Ryder, 6 Rob Harley, 7 Chris Fusaro, 8 Ryan Wilson
Substitutes: 16 Fergus Thomson, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 George Hunter, 19 Nick Campbell, 20 Calum Forrester, 21 Murray McConnell, 22 Alex Dunbar, 23 Scott Wight
Scarlets: 15 Dan Newton; 14 Viliami Iongi, 13 Gareth Maule (captain), 12 Adam Warren, 11 Andy Fenby; 10 Aled Thomas, 9 Gareth Davies; 1 Iestyn Thomas 2 Emyr Phillips , 3 Peter Edwards, 4 Sione Timani, 5 Dominic Day 6 Josh Turnbull, 7 Johnathan Edwards, 8 Matt Gilbert.
Substitutes: 16 Craig Hawkins, 17 Rhodri Jones, 18 Simon Gardiner, 19 Damian Welch, 20 Kieran Murphy, 21 Liam Davies, 22 Nick Reynolds, 23 Daniel Evans
Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU)

This article was posted on 9-Feb-2012, 22:25 by Hugh Barrow.