“We need to be more ruthless” | Darge

• 26 Mar 2022

Small mistakes at key moments in the match cost Glasgow Warriors victory in Cardiff last night, according to openside flanker Rory Darge as he reflected on proceedings at the Arms Park.

In control of the match with a four-try bonus-point in the bag at the hour mark, the Warriors ultimately saw the win slip through their fingers in the face of a final quarter fightback by the Welsh outfit.

Whilst Darge was quick to highlight the performance of the home team, he was also left rueful following the full-time whistle in the knowledge that the result was one that got away.

“Credit to Cardiff, because I thought they were excellent,” said the openside flanker.

“We knew they’d be tough to play against – they’ve only lost one league game at home all year, and they beat Leinster here, so we knew they’d come out firing.

“They took their chances really well and we weren’t ruthless enough with ours, so fair play to them on the win.

“It’s tough for me to say having not watched the game back yet, but we know we made too many mistakes. My initial reaction is that was more on us than it was on Cardiff forcing those errors from us. We need to front up to it and figure out why it happened, and sort it out.”

On a perfect night for running rugby, however, there was plenty to be positive about from a Glasgow perspective. The back-row battle in particular was of particular satisfaction for Darge, whilst behind the scrum an electric Sebastian Cancelliere notched his first two scores in Glasgow colours.

It’s a performance that heightens the sense of disappointment at letting the victory elude them, but only serves to further the resolve of the Warriors going into the final four matches of the regular season.

“It was a good battle at the breakdown, for sure,” said Darge.

“They went hard over the ball all game, and they have jacklers throughout their team. We knew they’d be strong in that area and I enjoyed testing myself in that area.

“We played really well as a team in the first 50, but we know we could also have defended better even in that section of the game. The last 30 was what killed us, really. We compounded errors, and we know we need to develop that ruthless edge to allow us to really bury games like that.

“Those mistakes are both collective and individual, but if we’re more ruthless about it and more clinical then we’ll give ourselves an even better shot at winning those games.”

The result now puts an even greater emphasis on Friday night’s final home match of the regular season, as Darge and company welcome Zebre Parma to Scotstoun in a fixture where victory is now a non-negotiable in the pursuit of a home playoff place.

The flanker was also keenly aware of the significance of coming away with two points from the Arms Park, but knows just how important getting the right result in front of the Warrior Nation now becomes.

“We’ve taken two points away from a ground where only one away team has won all season,” said Darge.

“That has to be in our minds, because every point is crucial at this time of the season.

“We should have won that game, no question, but we’re still top four and next week against Zebre becomes an even bigger game for us now.”

Don’t miss Glasgow Warriors back in action at Scotstoun on Friday 1 April, 7.35pm ?

Be quick! Get your tickets ? Zebre at our last regular game of the season

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— Glasgow Warriors (@GlasgowWarriors) March 24, 2022