| WARRIORS 29 – 25 DRAGONS |
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| Friday, 15 January 2010 | |
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WARRIORS 29 – 25 DRAGONS
Glasgow Warriors posted their second Heineken Cup win of the season in a remarkable contest against the Dragons at Firhill tonight. Urged on by a passionate 2,626 crowd – the highest for these particular opponents at Firhill – the Warriors surged to an 18-5 lead before the first quarter had elapsed but had to dig deep in the second half after the Dragons had taken the lead for the first time in the final quarter. But despite exchanging the lead on numerous occasions, Warriors head coach Sean Lineen was pleased after the final whistle: “It’s great to get back to winning ways at Firhill and that’s what it’s all about.” The usual script for Dragons’ visits to Firhill – that of a tightly-contested arm-wrestle – went out the window in a breathless first-half in tonight’s Heineken Cup match, where 43 points were scored including five tries. The Warriors went into half-time with a 24-19 lead but, in truth, the opening suggested that their margin would have been wider. Ruaridh Jackson, making his first start of the season at stand-off, fired Warriors deep into the Dragons’ 22 with an immaculate touch-finder and when Glasgow took against the throw at the lineout Colin Gregor and Bernie Stortoni linked for Rob Dewey to muscle over for the opening try. Jackson converted. Better followed after four minutes as Glasgow’s up-tempo start was confirmed gloriously as Johnnie Beattie charged down an attempted clearance by Shaun Connor, the Dragons’ stand-off about 30 metres out. Beattie calmly booted on and then out-paced the retreating Connor to pounce for the try. Jackson’s conversion went astray. A charge down at one end – and sadly a charge down at the other: Dan Turner had collected a defensive lineout and Colin Gregor was poised to clear. However, Dragons’ veteran lock, Rob Sidoli, put his frame in the way. Sidoli gathered and dotted down. Connor missed the conversion and it was 12-5 after just six minutes. Penalties by Jackson and Gregor in the 11th and 19th minutes extended Warriors’ lead to 18-5. Yet, Dragons didn’t buckle and from what appeared a knock-on by either team – referee Fitzgibbon of Ireland decreeing otherwise as far as the Dragons were concerned – flanker James Harris picked up and bolted over for the try which Connor converted. Dragons centre Tom Riley was sin-binned on the half-hour for slowing up ruck ball inside his own 22 and Jackson goaled for 21-12. Bizarrely, Dragons bounced back with their third try as centre Rhodri Davies benefited from a lapse in defensive alignment by the hosts to weave over for a cleverly constructed try. Jason Tovey’s conversion narrowed the score to 21-19. Straight from the kick-off, Dragons infringed and Jackson landed his fourth successful kick out of five. Half-time: Glasgow Warriors 24 Dragons 19 The second-half was rather more the pattern that observers of this particular fixture might have expected as the Dragons forwards hammered relentlessly on the pick and go in the Glasgow half. Penalties from Connor and his substitute James Arlidge saw Dragons take the lead for the first time at 25-24 in the 61st minute. Glasgow were intent on utilising their bench and Dan Parks was the architect of their decisive score as his touch-finder rolled deep into the Dragons 22. The Welshmen couldn’t clear from the lineout and Fergus Thomson propelled himself low to the ground like some tearaway torpedo to touch down in the right corner. Parks couldn’t convert and he also missed a penalty as Glasgow had to endure a nervy finale. The final ten minutes did witness a heart-warming act of sportsmanship as Dragons openside flanker James Harris called on the referee to halt play after Calum Forrester in the Glasgow back-row had sustained what seemed a serious injury to his right leg. In the heat of competition it showed that some of rugby’s core values remain alive – and the applause of the Glasgow crowd showed the gesture had not gone un-noticed. Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (IRFU) Heineken Man of the Match: Johnnie Beattie (Glasgow Warriors) Glasgow Warriors: Bernardo Stortoni; DTH van der Merwe, Max Evans, Rob Dewey, Thom Evans; Ruaridh Jackson, Colin Gregor CAPTAIN; Jon Welsh, Fergus Thomson, Ed Kalman, Richie Gray, Dan Turner, Calum Forrester, Kelly Brown, Johnnie Beattie Newport Gwent Dragons: Jason Tovey; Aled Brew, Rhodri Gomer Davies, Tom Riley, Richard Fussell; Shaun Connor, Danny Lee; Hugh Gustafson, Tom Willis CAPTAIN, Gethin Robinson, Rob Sidoli, Luke Charteris , Danny Lydiate, James Harris, Lewis Evans |
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