Bonus-point win pleases Murchie

• 4 Dec 2021

A five-try, bonus-point victory over the Dragons was enough to satisfy Glasgow Warriors Assistant Coach Pete Murchie last night, as he watched his side get their United Rugby Championship campaign back on track in style.

In front of 6,500 at Scotstoun, a comprehensive display saw the Warriors power to a 33-14 victory over their visitors, with five different try scorers to boot under the Saturday night floodlights.

“That was a really good win at home tonight,” Murchie told glasgowwarriors.org post-match.

“The try before half-time was a big one for us, because that gave us the momentum to kick on in the second half. We were looking for a reaction from last week, and we knew we had to physically be right on it. The team gave us that reaction, and that laid the foundations.

“The first 20 minutes were a bit stop-start, but we managed to pick it up and get ourselves on top in that second quarter. Once we got ourselves three scores up at the break, we could relax a bit. The Dragons never go away, though – you always have to finish them off and we did that well tonight.”

Two of the club’s marquee summer signings were prominent throughout proceedings, with Jack Dempsey grabbing the headlines with a Player of the Match-winning performance to go along with a barnstorming try on the stroke of half-time.

With Josh McKay also catching the eye with an impressive display in the 15 jersey on his first appearance in Glasgow colours, the Warrior Nation were quick to show their appreciation for two of their newest favourites.

Your URC Player of the Match, Jack Dempsey ? pic.twitter.com/hhRgPI20y6
— Glasgow Warriors (@GlasgowWarriors) December 4, 2021

“Jack was outstanding,” said Murchie.

“He was a real handful on the ball, and he made a lot of line breaks that caused the Dragons a lot of problem with ball in hand.

“Josh did really well for us on his debut, too. He turned in a really assured performance at full-back and looked dangerous with the ball, but for me that cover tackle on Sam Davies was the big highlight of his performance. That was world-class.

“To see Domingo [Miotti] make his debut in the closing stages, too, that’s a really pleasing thing for us as well. It was a really good team performance.”

The URC now takes a back seat for the next fortnight, with the Warriors preparing to compete against the best in Europe as the Heineken Champions Cup returns next weekend.

A trip to the Stade Marcel Deflandre and a showdown with La Rochelle lies in store next Sunday, and Murchie is relishing the chance to create another piece of club history on French soil.

“We’ve got a longer week of build-up now, with the game on Sunday next weekend,” said Murchie.

“We’ll need to be on top of our game when we go over to La Rochelle, because they’re a team that can hurt you and they’re going well in the TOP14. They’re a real challenge over there.

“It’s an opportunity for us to go out and make a statement, though, so our focus will shift on to that and on to making sure we give ourselves the best chance we can in our opening European game.”