CARDIFF BLUES 13-34 GLASGOW WARRIORS
Saturday, 01 October 2011

A fortnight after posting one of the best wins in their history by beating Leinster in Dublin, Glasgow Warriors landed another victory for the record books with a stunning 34-13 bonus-point triumph over Cardiff Blues at Cardiff City Stadium.
A last-minute try from Peter Horne, a neat follow-up to his first ever Warriors score two weeks ago, put the seal on a fantastic performance and result from Sean Lineen’s men, who brought a brilliantly clinical edge to their game to bounce back in sensational fashion from the disappointment of Treviso.
This was their second win in three visits to City Stadium, and their first on Welsh soil since May 2010.
They will now look to claim their first home success of the RaboDirect PRO12 campaign against Dragons at Firhill on Friday 7 October (kick-off 7.30pm, tickets here).
The Warriors made a bright start to the game, looking to exploit the perfect overhead and underfoot conditions to move the ball at pace. A couple of early moves saw James Eddie and Tom Ryder make good yards with ball in hand, while Troy Nathan and Duncan Weir teamed up well in midfield.
These positive early signs were translated into the first points of the night 14 minutes in. The try owed much to the awareness and impudence of the increasingly impressive full-back Stuart Hogg, who burst straight through the middle of a ruck down the Glasgow right to fire into an ocean of space before feeding Colin Gregor to apply the finishing touch. Weir's conversion gave the visitors a welcome seven point lead.
The Blues, always proud performers on their home patch, were soon on the board themselves, Ceri Sweeney knocking over a straightforward penalty after Glasgow were penalised for offside.
To complete a quick-fire double blow, the Warriors conceded a try shortly afterwards. A Glasgow knock-on brought Cardiff an attacking scrum in a central position well inside the vistors' 22, and the Blues immediately sought to apply some pressure by moving the ball swiftly right.
After getting no change from the redoubtable Glasgow defence, Sweeney switched the point of attack with a nice kick to the left corner, where Casey Laulala dodged the traffic to cross.
Completely undeterred, Lineen's troups regrouped instantly and scored from their next attack. Again it was a scrum that provided the attacking platform, before Beattie fed Eddie with a cute little inside pass.
The blindside flanker was suddenly in space and boy did he make the most of it, embarking on a sensational burst that took him over the line and Glasgow back into the lead. Weir's conversion made it 14-8 to the Warriors as the half-hour mark approached.
Immediately prior to the interval, the Warriors enjoyed a spell of intense pressure on the Cardiff line, as a superb eight-man effort saw their scrum win a series of penalties. The referee eventually tired of the Blues' infringements, and sent scrum-half Lewis Jones to the sin bin shortly before Weir knocked over another three points.
HALF-TIME: CARDIFF BLUES 8-17 GLASGOW WARRIORS
The game was perfectly poised heading into the second period, and despite being a man down, Cardiff responded to the promptings of the home crowd and sought to turn the screw.
It took some robust first-up tackling from Glasgow to prevent the legion of strike runners in the Blues' back division from springing into life, while a sprinkling of luck arrived in the shape of a Sweeney penalty rebounding off the left-hand post.
The Warriors more than earned this good fortune, as they scrapped and fought for everything, showing courage, conviction and no little skill.
A third try arrived at a crucial juncture 53 minutes in, when Tommy Seymour, who had looked sharp throughout, sniffed out an intercept at the expense of Deiniol Jones and careered over the line for his first competitive Glasgow touchdown. Weir again showed great composure to put the Scots 16 points ahead.
With more than a quarter of the match left to play, it was inevitable that Cardiff would launch an all-out assault in the hope of effecting a turnaround. The Warriors defence held firm until Sweeney got a hand to a clearing kick from Hogg, and blindside flanker Michael Paterson pouched the ball first to score his team's second try.
The game was now entering a crucial phase, with a further home incursion on the scoreboard likely to bring about a grandstand finish. Instead it was Glasgow who landed the next points, their scrum again coming together to devastating effect and winning a penalty in front of the posts to establish a 14-point lead.
It was an advantage their composure never looked likely to see slip, and Horne's score was the icing on an already truly sweet cake.
RaboDirect Man of the Match: Colin Gregor (Glasgow Warriors)
Cardiff Blues: 15 Chris Czekaj; 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Casey Laulala, 12 Gavin Evans, 11 Tom James; 10 Ceri Sweeney, 9 Lewis Jones; 1 Sam Hobbs, 2 Rhys Williams, 3 Scott Andrews, 4 Paul Tito (captain), 5 Deiniol Jones, 6 Michael Paterson, 7 Maama Molitika, 8 Xavier Rush
Substitutes: 16 Ieuan Davies, 17 Nathan Trevett, 18 Ryan Harford, 19 James Down, 20 Thomas Young, 21 Richie Rees, 22 Gareth Davies, 23 Dafydd Hewitt
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Stuart Hogg; 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Rob Dewey, 12 Troy Nathan, 11 Colin Shaw; 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Colin Gregor; 1 Gordon Reid, 2 Finlay Gillies, 3 Mike Cusack, 4 Tom Ryder, 5 Rob Verbakel, 6 James Eddie, 7 Rob Harley (captain), 8 Johnnie Beattie
Substitutes: 16 Pat MacArthur, 17 Ryan Grant, 18 Ed Kalman, 19 Rory Pitman, 20 Ryan Wilson, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Alex Dunbar, 23 Peter Horne
Ref: J Lacey (IRFU)
 

This article was posted on 1-Oct-2011, 20:24 by Hugh Barrow.