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Glasgow Warriors had hoped to be cementing their push for Heineken Cup quarter-final qualification when they welcome Cardiff Blues to Scotstoun on Friday but instead it is the visitors who are in pole position to challenge Toulon for top spot in Pool 2. - 12/12/2013 09:27
Glasgow Warriors had hoped to be cementing their push for Heineken Cup quarter-final qualification when they welcome Cardiff Blues to Scotstoun on Friday but instead it is the visitors who are in pole position to challenge Toulon for top spot in Pool 2.
Glasgow headed to Cardiff last week knowing that victory in the Welsh capital would have seen them sitting pretty at the halfway stage of the campaign and with two home games still to come. Defeat at the Arms Park has left them with at the foot of the table, though, and they now face an uphill struggle to reach the last eight given that Toulon won at Exeter on the same weekend.
Gregor Townsend’s men failed to even pick up a losing bonus point in Round 3, meaning a maximum point haul on home soil is now even more important to their hopes of a maiden Heineken Cup quarter-final. The Scottish side have only once played knockout rugby in Europe and that was in the form of a quarter-final play off which ended in a 90-point drubbing by Leicester Tigers back in 1997.
If the Warriors are looking for omens hinting at a reverse in fortunes in Round 4, then a 47-32 success at Hughenden in 2001 would fit that bill seeing as it came just a week after they’d been thrashed 46-7 in Cardiff. But history pointed in their favour prior to last Friday’s fixture as well, with Glasgow having secured five straight wins over the Blues since February 2011.
As for the Welsh outfit, Phil Davies’ troops are on a major Heineken Cup high after receiving rave reviews for their performance last time out. Victory over holders Toulon in Round 2 was a huge result for the region but they still weren’t expected to back it up given that they sit ninth in the RaboDirect PRO12, some 13 points behind third-placed Glasgow thanks to just three league wins all season.
But back it up they did, and in some style, too. The Blues bounced back from a 31-6 mauling by Munster in their previous outing at the Arms Park despite missing a host of big names through injury, including British & Irish Lions skipper Sam Warburton. Warburton won’t be fit to feature on Friday, either, as he is awaiting specialist advice on a ‘stinger’ problem with his shoulder.
Lions wing Alex Cuthbert marked his return from ankle damage with a well-taken try last week but the Blues’ injury crisis has since deepened with the news that centre Dafydd Hewitt won’t be available for selection. Hewitt becomes the fourth midfielder to be ruled out, with Owen Williams, Cory Allen and Gavin Evans already out of action.
Hewitt’s absence leaves Davies with only one fit centre in Richard Smith and takes the number of unavailable players up to 13.
Cardiff Blues took top spot in Pool 2 with a second straight win over Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun on Friday night. - 13/12/2013 22:36
Cardiff Blues took top spot in Pool 2 with a second straight win over Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun on Friday night.
The Welsh side edged a tense encounter 9-7 as they backed up last week’s 29-20 success at the Arms Park to make it three wins in four in Europe.
They now sit three points clear of Heineken Cup holders RC Toulon ahead of the French side’s home tie with Exeter Chiefs at the Stade Felix Mayol on Saturday.
A huge early penalty from Rhys Patchell and another in either half from Leigh Halfpenny gave the Blues a deserved win against a Glasgow side who struggled to build any momentum throughout. A late converted try from prop Ryan Grant gave the home team hope with nine minutes left but Duncan Weir missed a chance to win it for the Warriors when he pushed a long-range penalty wide of the posts with a minute-and-a-half remaining.
With the Blues starting with a substantial breeze behind them, Patchell took advantage by landing one of the longest kicks in living memory with five minutes on the clock. The youngster, who was switched from fly-half to centre due to his side’s mounting injury crisis, hit the target from the wrong side of his own 10-metre line to evoke memories of fellow Welshman Paul Thorburn’s monster effort against Scotland in Cardiff back in 1986.
Halfpenny surprisingly missed a relatively straightforward shot at goal with 15 minutes played but he made amends with a more taxing effort to put the Blues 6-0 up with 22 minutes gone.
Glasgow seemed set to claim the game’s opening try four minutes later but Scotland and Lions wing Sean Maitland knocked on following Stuart Hogg’s pass with the line at his mercy.
The Blues scrum had been under pressure throughout despite the six-point lead and it almost cost them dear when they repeatedly struggled at a setpiece close to their own line. Skipper Sam Hobbs was yellow carded for a scrum offence with 31 minutes on the clock but the ball popped loose when the Warriors drove towards the tryline just as referee Pascal Gauzere was losing patience.
Glasgow thought they had grabbed a try just moments later, though, when scrum-half Nikola Matawalu dived over close to the posts. Most of the Scotstoun crowd were on their feet celebrating but the TMO dampened the mood by penalising Rob Harley for obstruction as he cleared out Patchell past the ruck and left space for Matawalu as a result.
The Blues led 6-0 at the break and neither side came close to changing that scoreline until Ruaridh Jackson hooked a 45-metre penalty attempt wide of the left post as the wind played havoc with the flight of the ball after 58 minutes.
Halfpenny showed him how it should be done six minutes later as he pushed the Blues two tries clear, but the Warriors dug deep and Chris Cusiter’s inside pass put Grant over to raise hopes of a comeback. Weir slotted the simple extras but he couldn’t quite become the hero late on as his 78th minute penalty didn’t even come close to keeping Glasgow’s Heineken Cup hopes alive.
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