Rennie lauds pack after Cardiff Blues win

• 13 Jan 2019

Glasgow Warriors will be targeting next weekend’s fixture with Saracens to aid their Heineken Champions Cup qualification hopes, says the club’s head coach Dave Rennie.

A crucial 33-24 victory over Cardiff Blues at Scotstoun means that the Warriors remain firmly in contention for a place in the quarter-finals, with the all-important try bonus-point secured in the process.

The effort of his side’s pack particularly pleased the Glasgow head coach, with four of the five tries coming courtesy of the forwards.

“We’re rapt with our big men up front,” said Rennie.

“Our scrum and line-out were excellent.

“I thought we did a really good job with ball in hand. We were direct, made good decisions and were a lot more patient, and that paved the way for the win.”

With the game played against the backdrop of a strong wind in Glasgow’s west end, both sides were faced with an additional challenge throughout the 80 minutes.

“Playing into the wind, you’ve got to look after the ball because one mistake can cost you 60 or 70 metres, as we saw at times,” said Rennie.

“We’re more than happy with how it went today though. The boys up front were really good, and that gave us the platform we needed.”

Glasgow now head into the final round of group fixtures as one of a number of teams chasing a spot in the knockout stages of Europe’s premier club competition, with the five group winners and three best runners-up assured of a place in the quarter-final draw.

With English champions Saracens lying in store next weekend, though, Rennie is under no illusions as to the scale of the task facing his side.

“It’s a couple of rungs up again, isn’t it?” said Rennie.

“We’ve got to go down there and embrace it. We know there’s a bit of a logjam with the runners-up spots after yesterday’s results, so we know we might need more points next weekend.

“Our first objective, though, will be to go down to London and win the group, as it has been from the outset.”