Cardiff Blues v Glasgow Warriors

  • 29 November 2020

A resolute display from Glasgow Warriors was rewarded with the victory tonight, as Danny Wilson’s men earned a 19-10 win over Cardiff Blues at Rodney Parade.

Huw Jones’ interception try nine minutes from full-time sealed the result for the visitors, who produced a performance full of grit, determination and attacking intent.

It would be the Blues that would be the first to trouble the scorers under the Rodney Parade floodlights; an Aled Summerhill half-break was well halted by Robbie Fergusson, but an infringement at the breakdown from the Warriors allowed Jarrod Evans to kick the first points of the night with just two minutes on the clock.

The Warriors response was immediate – a darting break and offload from Horne allowed Kiran McDonald to charge forward, whilst Nick Grigg’s prominence in attack and defence was keeping the Cardiff defence on alert.

With the bulk of the territory and possession, points were soon forthcoming for Glasgow. After seeing his first attempt of the night cannon off the upright, Horne made no mistake on 13 minutes to bisect the posts and level the scores.

The majority of the attacking intent was coming from the Warriors, with Grigg proving a handful for the Blues defence. Even without the ball Glasgow were exerting pressure at every opportunity, Tom Gordon coming up with three turnovers in the space of 10 first-half minutes.

Out of nothing, however, the home side thought they had crossed for the game’s opening score on 31 minutes. A turnover from Gwyliam Bradley saw Owen Lane collect a kick ahead to touch down, but a TMO check revealed a knock on in the build-up that saw referee Frank Murphy chalk off the try.

There would in fact be just the one further score in the opening period, Horne making no mistake from the tee on 35 minutes following a Cardiff indiscretion at the breakdown to send his side in to the dressing room with a 6-3 half-time lead.

Five minutes into the second half, though, that lead would be wiped out as Cardiff struck against the run of play. A loose ball was scooped up by the Blues to allow Lane to race into the Glasgow 22, before the ball was shipped across the pitch to Summerhill. Whilst Rob Harley’s excellent tackle cut down the Blues winger, Kristian Dacey was on hand to collect the offload and cross the whitewash. Evans converted, and Cardiff led 10-6.

Undeterred, the Warriors came forward once more. A neat offload from Ryan Wilson saw Kiran McDonald charge into the Cardiff 22, and when the visitors looked to move the ball wide Bradley’s deliberate knock-on was punished with a yellow card from referee Murphyon 57 minutes. Horne narrowed the deficit to a single point with the resulting penalty, with the Warriors sensing a breakthrough.

Just four minutes later, the lead was Glasgow’s. A no-arms tackle on Wilson allowed replacement Brandon Thomson to step up to the tee, the South African making no mistake to nudge his side in front.

With Cardiff now chasing the game, the Warriors knew that defence would be paramount in the final quarter. Accordingly, Danny Wilson’s men fronted up. A bone-shuddering hit from TJ Ioane and the menacing work of Harley in the lineout disrupted Cardiff’s pack, whilst Lee Jones and Robbie Fergusson were on hand to snuff out any attacking intent from the back line.

The pivotal moment arrived with nine minutes to play, and it would be a moment cheered across the country by the Warrior Nation. It came courtesy of Huw Jones, as the replacement picked off a Cardiff pass 30 metres from the try-line to race home under the posts for a try that sparked jubilant celebrations from the visiting squad. Thomson’s conversion took the game beyond their hosts, and ensured that the points would be coming home with the Warriors.

live commentary 7:35 PM Sunday 29 Nov 2020

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Kick-off 7:35 PM

Cardiff Blues

Glasgow Warriors

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