Time will tell whether Glasgow Warriors have the resources to go deep in two competitions but they are making a more than decent fist of it so far.
Already sitting pretty on top of the URC, Franco Smith’s side also extended their involvement in the Champions Cup with this hard-fought win over old rivals, the Bulls, to set up a quarter-final tie against Toulon next weekend.
This wasn’t Glasgow at their free-flowing best — Storm Dave and the atrocious weather conditions put paid to that — but this was a performance just as impressive as they eventually ground down a Springbok-laden Bulls side to progress.
Warriors also showed here that they won’t be influenced by scoreboard pressure. While the Bulls and Handre Pollard chose to kick for the posts at almost every opportunity, Glasgow stuck to their philosophy of looking to land five points instead of three, even when there was no bonus point up for grabs.
It could have backfired had they fallen short — the Bulls led at half-time and got to within a point with five minutes left to play — but they stuck to their beliefs and eventually reaped the rewards. Max Willamson, Jack Dempsey, Patrick Schicklering and man-of-the-match Stafford McDowall all crossed as Glasgow kept alive their chances of landing a dream double.
‘It’s us, it’s our DNA, it’s the way we play,’ said Smith. ‘It’s play-off rugby. If we win with one point or two points, it doesn’t matter. It’s slightly different than when you play the URC and you chase a game or you’re ahead.
The impressive Stafford McDowall crosses for his side’s decisive fourth try at Scotstoun
‘It’s important to not be influenced by what the opposition do but concentrate on what you can handle.’
The only potential downside was the ankle injury sustained by George Horne that could see him sidelined for next weekend’s rematch with the side that defeated Glasgow in the 2023 Challenge Cup final.
‘We’ll have to see what the diagnosis is first,’ added Smith. ‘He’s walking on it with a boot so hopefully it’s not that serious.’
Any lingering questions as to why McDowall was given the nod over Huw Jones were soon answered with the Scotland centre putting in a man-of-the match performance, one embellished with that late try.
He made two early telling contributions that underlined his importance to how Warriors play. The first was in a defensive sense after Ollie Smith’s kick had rebounded off Kurt-Lee Arendse, who then hacked the ball towards the Warriors line. McDowall, though, had been alert to the danger and was first to smother the ball and eliminate the danger.
His next involvement was also key as Warriors landed the opening try 17 minutes into the contest. With Warriors trailing to Pollard’s first penalty, it was McDowall’s powerful carry down the middle that got them motoring. Matt Fagerson took on the baton with another surging run before offloading to Horne. The scrum-half was stopped just short by the covering Johann Grobbelaar but picked out Williamson who powered over the line.
Glasgow are in the midst of reshaping their squad for next season and were then shown what they will be missing out on as the Bulls landed their first try.
Glasgow’s Patrick Schickerling powers his way through to score his side’s third try
David Kriel has reportedly chosen La Rochelle rather than Scotland as his next destination and the full-back demonstrated why he’s a man in demand as he executed a brilliant no-look, over-the-shoulder pass for Grobbelaar to crash over in the corner.
Pollard couldn’t make a difficult conversion but atoned with a more straightforward penalty effort after Williamson had drifted offside. Glasgow were struggling to get into their rhythm in the relentless rain but did move back in front not long after Horne had limped off to be replaced by Ben Afshar.
It was the trusty lineout maul that teed it up, with all the backs piling in to add extra ballast to the shove. The Bulls did well to stop the momentum but the ball sat up nicely for Dempsey to simply pick up and plop down over the line.
A topsy-turvy first half ended with another clinical Pollard kick from distance — Sione Tuipulotu the man pinged for offside this time — to put the Bulls back in front.
Glasgow had the wind in their favour after the restart but were still struggling to unleash their usual attacking menace on the Bulls. They turned down the chance to regain the lead by kicking for the corner rather than the posts at a penalty, only to then botch the subsequent lineout.
The Bulls were defending valiantly but Glasgow finally broke through for their third try of a compelling contest. Afshar took a quick tap penalty, fizzing the ball left for Schickerling who had Gregor Hiddleston latching on to his shoulder to help propel him over the line.
Tempers flare up towards the conclusion as South African Handre Pollard confronts Kyle Steyn
A Bulls penalty at that point would have tied the scores and introduced the possibility of extra-time but a fourth Glasgow try eight minutes from the end looked to have extinguished the visitors’ threat.
It went the way of McDowall who capped a stellar showing by finishing a passing move that saw the ball go through the hands of Josh McKay and Smith before the centre crashed over in the corner.
That should have sealed matters but Bulls refused to go away quietly. Marco van Staden rounded off an extended period of pressure on the Glasgow line, with Kriel’s conversion reducing the deficit to just a point.
Lesser teams might have crumbled but Warriors went up the other end where McKay almost waltzed through for a thrilling score. Elrigh Louw was then shown a yellow card for repeat team infringements before Adam Hastings let the clock tick into the red before knocking over a penalty to make sure of the win.
