Parks was the star man for Glasgow once again

Glasgow (13) 25
Tries: Parks, Gregor, Pinder
Cons: Parks 3
Pens: Parks 2


Scarlets (6) 23
Tries: Stoddart 2
Cons: S Jones 2
Penalties: S Jones 3


Glasgow bagged two late tries to edge Llanelli Scarlets out in a Magners League thriller at Firhill.

Glasgow established a 13-6 lead at the interval, with skipper Dan Parks grabbing a try and kicking the rest.

But Scarlets' Morgan Stoddart took advantage of some sloppy home play to power his way through for two tries.

The home side rallied in the closing stages and forced late touchdowns from Colin Gregor and Sam Pinder, with Parks adding the vital conversion.


Glasgow made a bright start, forcing the Scarlets back, but Parks missed a simple penalty chance following an illegal challenge on Gregor.

Scarlets had a quick chance to make the most of the reprieve, however Stephen Jones suffered the same fate as Parks with his first attempt at goal.

The veteran Wales and Lions scrum-half made instant amends by finding his range to put the visitors in front after Glasgow crept offside.

Warriors responded positively to set up a series of attacks and Parks combined cleverly with Graeme Morrison before ploughing over the line for an opportunist try.

He followed up with a pinpoint conversion and banged over an angled penalty to stretch the lead further.

Llanelli narrowed the gap with another Jones strike when John Barclay was ruled offside in the aftermath of a ruck.

And the penalty duel continued as Parks was bang on target again seconds before the break following hands in the ruck by the Welshmen.

There was still time for controversy as home winger Thom Evans was crudely body-checked as he chased his own chip.

To the outrage of the home fans, English referee Dave Wilkinson waved play-on and the chance was lost.

There was another blow for Glasgow immediately after the restart as Stoddart snapped up a try - capitalising on weak fringe marking.

And Jones stepped up to add the extras, setting up a tense second half.

The clinical Stoddart completed his quickfire double - with Jones making it a seven-pointer at a crucial stage.

Jones then fired over a penalty to create a gap of 10 points.

But Gregor claimed a sniping try, with Parks skewing the conversion wide.

However, Parks, who scored all 23 points in last week's win over Edinburgh, made ample amends by goaling Pinder's last gasp effort.



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Glasgow: Stortoni, M. Evans, Morrison, Gibson, T. Evans, Parks, Gregor, Va'a, Thomson, Low, Palepoi, Turner, Brown, Barclay, Beattie. Replacements: Pinder for Stortoni (61), Henderson for Gibson (51), Tckachuk for Va'a (51), Hall for Thomson (42), Eddie for Beattie (67). Not Used: Newman, Faatau.

Llanelli Scarlets: Stoddart, Daniel, King, Watkins, Brew, S. Jones, Cattle, I. Thomas, Schwalger, Broster, Cooper, MacLeod, Easterby, Bater, N. Thomas. Replacements: Rees for Schwalger (57), Popham for N. Thomas (57). Not Used: Douglas, Reed, D. Jones, L. Davies, Priestlend.

Att: 2,012

Ref: D Wilkinson

This article was posted on 18-Apr-2008, 21:56 by Hugh Barrow.