Memory Lane | Pete’s big night

• 10 Apr 2020

It was an evening in which the Warrior Nation were in the mood to celebrate two club legends, and to roar their side on to a vital win in their pursuit of the Guinness PRO12 title. Yet another man would steal the Scotstoun spotlight on that April evening in 2015.

Whilst the pre-match column inches were dominated by talk of Al Kellock and Dougie Hall after both men announced they would be retiring at the end of the season, it was Pete Horne that turned in a virtuoso performance on the pitch. The centre wrote his name into the club’s history books once more against Cardiff Blues, running in a first-half hat-trick to help the Warriors to a comfortable victory.

Here, with the help of resident stats guru Kevin Millar (@topofthemoongw), we take a look at what makes Horne’s treble so special…

#OnThisDay in 2015 – @petehorne72 produced this masterclass in try-scoring against Cardiff Blues at Scotstoun

⚔️?️ pic.twitter.com/rBL1HheQBI

— Glasgow Warriors (@GlasgowWarriors) April 10, 2020

Quick to make an impression

Chief amongst the notable facts about Horne’s hat-trick was just how quickly the centre went about his business. All three of the scores came within a 15-minute window – the quickest time from first try to third try of any player in the professional history of Glasgow Warriors.

With all three of the tries coming in the first half to boot, Horne joined Hefin O’Hare as one of only two Warriors to register a hat-trick prior to the interval.

Scotstoun trebles

Horne’s hat-trick under the Scotstoun floodlights was also notable for being only the second home hat-trick for a Warriors player; DTH van der Merwe had become the first Warrior to score three tries in one home match just three months earlier.

Since then, there have been three further hat-tricks at Scotstoun courtesy of Taqele Naiyaravoro (v Scarlets, 2015), Leone Nakarawa (v Zebre, 2016) and Tommy Seymour (v Leinster, 2016).

Not just for wingers

Whilst the flyers out wide might be renowned for their try-scoring, Horne’s hat-trick proved it’s not just wingers that can finish off a score.

The centre followed in the footsteps of Roland Reid and Stuart Hogg to become the third non-winger to score a treble in Glasgow colours, with Nakarawa joining the club the following year.

Domestic bliss

Indeed Glasgow Warriors players have a knack of crossing for hat-tricks in domestic competition. Across all incarnations of the Guinness PRO14, there have been eight hat-tricks recorded by Glasgow players – Horne’s was the fifth.

Furthermore, there have been seven hat-tricks by Glasgow players when facing Welsh opposition in either the Guinness PRO14 or Heineken Champions Cup.

Horne’s treble means he is one of 12 players to have registered one of the 14 hat-tricks in club history. Only Roland Reid and Tommy Seymour, with two apiece, have scored multiple hat-tricks in Glasgow colours.