Glasgow Warriors 22
Connacht 19
In a frustrating afternoon for Connacht, a disappointing defeat to Glasgow Warriors has all but diminished any hopes of making Champions Cup rugby through making the URC top eight.
Connacht’s inconsistency and unforced errors proved costly against a Glasgow outfit missing a host of international players - thus Connacht’s unbeaten run in Scotstoun continues with their last victory in Firhill back in September 2010.
“Not gone yet, but it has left us with a lot of work to do,” says head coach Pete Wilkins, “and this game is so important in making up the difference. With the form of our Challenge Cup and with them missing players, to not take the win was really disappointing.”
Fourteenth in the table before kick-off, but in confident form after their Challenge Cup exploits, Connacht needed a win to give them a glimmer of hope of making the URC top eight, but they failed to take advantage of a weakened Scottish outfit.
Glasgow had led 17-5 at the break. The experienced Duncan Weir had knocked over a penalty after nine minutes before Connacht took a temporary lead try courtesy of Hawkshaw’s block-down and try, but were unable to add the conversion before Glasgow responded through a Sebastian Cancelliere try - Weir adding the extras.
With the wind at their backs, Glasgow continued to dominate both territory and possession. A superb line-out steal from Josh Murphy kept them at bay just yards from the Connacht line, but Glasgow scrumhalf Ben Afshar added try number two. Then, capitalising on a poor Connacht kick, a barnstorming run by Patrick Schickerling allowed Alex Samuel to add the third try for a 17-5 lead.
Connacht, despite dominating possession and territory, were well marshalled by the Glasgow defence, who enjoyed a 90 per cent tackle success rate in the opening half. However it looked more positive for Connacht after the restart when Hawkshaw finished a superb attack and JJ Hanrahan added the conversion, cutting the deficit to five points.
While a Connacht penalty minutes later hit the upright, Cancelliere added a second try for a 22-12 lead, and Connacht’s top eight were in real jeopardy. Chasing the game, they created a chance with two penalties to touch, but failed to convert, and as mistakes started to mount in the face of a well-organised defence, the hailstones continued to dampen their spirits.
Paul Boyle won a deserved penalty to give them a faint hope with five minutes remaining, but their failure to retain and deliver with a surfeit of possession, proved costly. A Paul Boyle break helped produce a Piers O’Connor try, but it was too little, too late.
Scoring sequence: 8m Weir pen 3-0; 19m Hawkshaw try 3-5; 22m Cancelliere try, Weir con 10-5; 32m Afshar try, Weir con 17-5. HT 17-5. 42m Hawkshaw try, Hanrahan con 17-12; 58m Cancelliere try 22-12; 77m O’Connor try, Hanrahan con 22-19.
Glasgow Warriors: J McKay, S Cancelliere, O Smith, D Munn, F Cordero, D Weir (C ), B Afshar, P Schickerling, J Matthews, F Richardson, E Ferrie, A Samuel, A Miller, H Venter, Jack Mann. Replacements: 51m S Talakai for Richardson and N McBeth for Schickerling (both 51m ), A Fraser for Miller (59 ), G Stewart for Matthews (70m ).
Connacht: S Cordero, C Mullins, P O’Conor, D Hawkshaw, B Ralston, JJ Hanrahan, C Blade, P Dooley, D Heffernan, J Aungier, D O’Connor, J Joyce (C ), J Murphy, S Hurley-Langton, S Jansen. Replacements: O Dowling for O’Connor (40-41 ), P Boyle for Jansen, M Devine for Blade and S Illo for Aungier (all 55m ), F Treacy for Ralston (58m ), Tierney-Martin for Heffernan, O Dowling for O’Connor and J Duggan for Dooley (all 62m ), J Carty for Cordero (71m ).
Referee: Adam Jones (WRU ).