Glasgow Warriors 13-9 Lions
Glasgow Warriors made it back-to-back victories over South African opponents, as Jamie Bhatti’s early score proved the difference in a 13-9 win over the Emirates Lions at Scotstoun.
Ross Thompson chipped in with eight points from the boot, with the Glasgow defence to the forefront of a valuable home triumph.
For the second week in succession, the Warriors could scarcely have made a better start. After a high shot on Cole Forbes was penalised by Ross Thompson kicking to the corner, the pack set about their business. On his 50th appearance for the club, it was eventually Bhatti who made the crucial final yard, touching down under the posts for the opening score of the match. Thompson converted, and it was a seven-point lead for the hosts after just two minutes.
Whilst EW Viljoen cut the deficit to four just a couple of minutes later after Glasgow were penalised for offside, the early attacking impetus was all coming from the home side. Whilst the Scotstoun drizzle was making handling tricky, the Warriors were looking to impose their style on proceedings, stretching the play in midfield. The back-three in particular were causing mayhem for the Lions defence, with one sidestep from Rufus McLean earning a roar from the Warrior Nation. With the Lions scrambling to get back in shape, an infringement at the breakdown allowed Thompson to kick a penalty from the 22 to give Glasgow a 10-3 lead after 15 minutes.
Yet the Lions were willing to match the home side’s attacking ambition, with Viljoen marshalling his back-line well in midfield. Good kick pressure from Stean Pienaar forced Glasgow to seal off at a ruck, with Viljoen punishing the hosts by nailing a penalty from 35 metres on the angle to narrow the gap to four once more.
Defences were increasingly dominant as the first-half wore on, with neither side willing to budge in the face of their opponents. Richie Gray showed all of his experience to track back fully 40 metres to cut down a break from Burger Odendaal, whilst Rory Darge and Jack Dempsey were making themselves known to the visitors.

A half-break from McLean and Jamie Dobie was the closest either side came to adding to their tallies as the first half wound to a close, with a Forbes chip and chase snuffed out by Rabz Maxwane just before the interval. Viljoen took just two minutes of the second half to trouble the scorers, however, as a long-range penalty cut the deficit to a single point.
The visitors now had their tails up, as they searched for the lead inside the Glasgow 22. The home side were willing to front up as the rain continued to fall, though, with a double hit from Bean and Sione Tuipulotu forcing a turnover before Murphy Walker earned a penalty at the resulting scrum with almost his first involvement from the bench.
Buoyed by their defensive efforts, the Warriors re-established their foothold in the match. A half-break from Tuipulotu almost sent Kyle Steyn away down the wing, whilst Nick Grigg was just unable to reel in a bouncing ball on the damp Scotstoun surface.
An increasingly-cagey affair saw a pivotal momentum shift as the game entered the closing stages. After Viljoen drilled a kick at goal wide of the uprights from inside his own half, the Lions fumbled the resulting restart inside their own 22 to give Glasgow the attacking scrum. With the Lions then jumping offside in defence, Thompson was ice-cool from the tee to take the score to 13-9 with nine minutes to play.
From there, it was down to the Glasgow defence once more. To a man, the home side fronted up; a colossal double hit from Matt Fagerson and Darge put the Lions on the back foot, before Brad Thyer and Steyn combined to force a knock on roared to the rafters by the Warrior Nation.
They may have come in very different fashions, but the Warriors won’t mind – the result sees Danny Wilson’s men move to the top of the Scottish-Italian Shield for the time being, as conference rivals Zebre await in Parma next weekend.
live commentary 3:05 PM Saturday 9 Oct 2021
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Glasgow Warriors
-
Sione Tuipulotu
23. Replacement18metres made
43MINUTES PLAYED
2TACKLES MADE
3COMPLETE PASSES
-
Duncan Weir
22. Replacement0metres made
13MINUTES PLAYED
1TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
-
George Horne
21. Replacement0metres made
33MINUTES PLAYED
4TACKLES MADE
14COMPLETE PASSES
-
Matt Fagerson
20. Replacement0metres made
30MINUTES PLAYED
3TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
-
Rob Harley
19. Replacement0metres made
22MINUTES PLAYED
3TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
-
Murphy Walker
18. Replacement0metres made
30MINUTES PLAYED
2TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
-
Bradley Thyer
17. Replacement1metres made
6MINUTES PLAYED
3TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
-
Johnny Matthews
16. Replacement0metres made
19MINUTES PLAYED
3TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
-
Jack Dempsey
8. Number 835metres made
50MINUTES PLAYED
3TACKLES MADE
3COMPLETE PASSES
-
Rory Darge
7. Back-row24metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
10TACKLES MADE
6COMPLETE PASSES
-
Ryan Wilson
6. Back-row0metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
9TACKLES MADE
8COMPLETE PASSES
-
Richie Gray
5. Second-row3metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
7TACKLES MADE
3COMPLETE PASSES
-
Lewis Bean
4. Second-row8metres made
58MINUTES PLAYED
2TACKLES MADE
4COMPLETE PASSES
-
Murray McCallum
3. Tighthead prop1metres made
50MINUTES PLAYED
2TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
-
Fraser Brown
2. Hooker20metres made
61MINUTES PLAYED
3TACKLES MADE
3COMPLETE PASSES
-
Jamie Bhatti
1. Loosehead prop7metres made
74MINUTES PLAYED
1TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
-
Jamie Dobie
9. Scrum-half8metres made
47MINUTES PLAYED
2TACKLES MADE
43COMPLETE PASSES
-
Ross Thompson
10. Stand-off20metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
6TACKLES MADE
14COMPLETE PASSES
-
Rufus McLean
11. Wing76metres made
67MINUTES PLAYED
1TACKLES MADE
6COMPLETE PASSES
-
Sam Johnson
12. Inside-centre19metres made
37MINUTES PLAYED
5TACKLES MADE
4COMPLETE PASSES
-
Nick Grigg
13. Outside-centre10metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
2TACKLES MADE
6COMPLETE PASSES
-
Kyle Steyn
14. Wing42metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
2TACKLES MADE
7COMPLETE PASSES
-
Cole Forbes
15. Full-back72metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
0TACKLES MADE
2COMPLETE PASSES
Lions
-
Divan Rossouw
15. Full-back19metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
2TACKLES MADE
2COMPLETE PASSES
-
Stean Pienaar
14. Wing28metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
2TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
-
Manuel Rass
13. Outside-centre4metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
3TACKLES MADE
3COMPLETE PASSES
-
Burger Odendaal
12. Inside-centre41metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
8TACKLES MADE
4COMPLETE PASSES
-
Rabz Maxwane
11. Wing0metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
2TACKLES MADE
2COMPLETE PASSES
-
EW Viljoen
10. Stand-off2metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
8TACKLES MADE
7COMPLETE PASSES
-
Andre Warner
9. Scrum-half17metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
4TACKLES MADE
42COMPLETE PASSES
-
Sti Sithole
1. Loosehead prop1metres made
66MINUTES PLAYED
6TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
-
Jaco Visagie
2. Hooker12metres made
72MINUTES PLAYED
4TACKLES MADE
2COMPLETE PASSES
-
Jannie du Plessis
3. Tighthead prop0metres made
40MINUTES PLAYED
6TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
-
Ruben Schoeman
4. Second-row6metres made
72MINUTES PLAYED
7TACKLES MADE
2COMPLETE PASSES
-
Pieter Jansen van Vuuren
5. Second-row4metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
8TACKLES MADE
6COMPLETE PASSES
-
Jaco Kriel
6. Back-row19metres made
61MINUTES PLAYED
8TACKLES MADE
3COMPLETE PASSES
-
Vincent Tshituka
7. Back-row21metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
8TACKLES MADE
1COMPLETE PASSES
-
Ruhan Straeuli
8. Number 88metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
6TACKLES MADE
2COMPLETE PASSES
-
PJ Botha
16. Replacement10metres made
8MINUTES PLAYED
1TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
-
Morgan Naude
17. Replacement0metres made
14MINUTES PLAYED
0TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
-
Carlu Sadie
18. Replacement0metres made
40MINUTES PLAYED
0TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
-
Reinhard Nothnagel
19. Replacement0metres made
8MINUTES PLAYED
0TACKLES MADE
2COMPLETE PASSES
-
Sibusiso Sangweni
20. Replacement0metres made
19MINUTES PLAYED
2TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
-
Morne van den Berg
21. Replacement0metres made
0MINUTES PLAYED
0TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
-
Wandisile Simelane
22. Replacement0metres made
0MINUTES PLAYED
0TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
-
Matt More
23. Replacement0metres made
1MINUTES PLAYED
0TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
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