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The Scarlets may be looking down on the rest of their Guinness PRO12 colleagues after returning to the top of the table with their win in Italy last week
The Scarlets may be looking down on the rest of their Guinness PRO12 colleagues after returning to the top of the table with their win in Italy last week, but they know just how difficult it is going to be to break their duck in the Champions Cup this season at the home of the reigning PRO12 champions.
The Welsh Region won 16-10 at Scotstoun during the World Cup period, but they have the utmost respect for the Warriors after their achievement in winning the PRO12 title last season. They will also be heading north in round three without six key international players.
Included among that half-a-dozen are former Glasgow stars John Barclay and DTH van der Merwe, both of who picked up injuries in the victory over Zebre last weekend. That was their eighth in nine league outings, but their fortunes in Pool 3 are already hanging in the balance after defeats to Northampton Saints and Racing 92.
Skipper Ken Owens (toe), prop Rob Evans (ankle), lock Jake Ball (groin) and back row man Aaron Shingler join Barlcay (shoulder) and Van der Merwe (thumb) on the injury list and head coach Wayne Pivac describes his squad, already shorn of Welsh internationals Scott and Liam Williams due to World Cup injuries, as “the walking wounded”.
Opposite number Gregor Townsend believes that if the Scarlets lose again that will put them out of the reckoning in the Pool, but he also realises that a second successive defeat for his own team would probably make qualification for the quarter-finals highly unlikely.
“We know it's really important because if we do lose then it's advantage to Racing and Northampton in the Pool,” said Townsend.
“We have only played one game and we need to make sure we're still in this competition after these two games. We've still got five games to go, and I think for a team to qualify they need to win four out of six.
“They would be very lucky to get through with only three out of six. We know what's up against us and we need to rise to the challenge.”
Match Facts
- Scarlets have won all four matches against Glasgow Warriors in the competition, winning by an average margin of 19 points.
- Glasgow have lost their last two in the Champions Cup and will be aiming to avoid a third straight defeat for the first time since January 2013 when they lost seven consecutive matches.
- Scarlets are winless in their last four Champions Cup matches and have scored only 26 points in their last three fixtures combined.
- Scarlets have won nine of their last 10 matches against teams from Scotland in the Champions Cup though their one defeat came in the most recent fixture in that run, against Edinburgh.
- These two sides have the lowest kick success in the tournament so far, with Scarlets making just 38% of their kicks at goal and Glasgow 40%.
Les Warriors écossais ont remporté la bataille face aux Scarlets (43-6) qui compilent une troisième défaite en autant de matches. Glasgow devra confirmer son retour en course samedi prochain à Llanelli. - 12/12/2015 15:30
Taqele Naiyaravoro ensured reigning Guinness PRO12 champions Glasgow Warriors steamrollered their way past Scarlets, and back into contention in Pool 3 of the Champions Cup, as he ran in a hat-trick of tries at Scotstoun.
The Aussie wing joined Thom Evans as the only player to score three tries in a match for the Warriors in 99 games in the top flight of European club rugby and he could have had four if his feet had been a fraction smaller.
The 6ft 5in, 19st 9lb giant showed off his full range of skills in the first half when he caught a ball that was heading for touch high over his shoulder, seemingly kept his feet inside the touch-line and then ran through three defenders to reach the line. It would have been a brilliant solo effort, but the TMO ruled his toe had touched the whitewash as he caught the ball.
The Scarlets, who had beaten the Warriors in an earlier trip to Scotstoun this season, were well below full strength because of injuries, but were well below par after a competitive first half that ended 10-3 in favour of the home side.
Duncan Weir got Glasgow off to a flying start with a try after seven minutes that he converted, but the Scarlets defence stood firm against wave after wave of attacks in the opening 40 minutes. Steve Shingler kicked a penalty to make it 7-3, Naiyaravoro had his try ruled out, Stuart Hogg dropped a gift-wrapped early Christmas present from Shingler with a suicide inside pass five metres from his line, but it was still anyone’s game at the break.
And when Shingler cut the gap to four points with his second penalty shortly after the re-start it looked as though it might be much closer than it ended. But the Warriors eventually wore down the home defenders, created some gaps and made hay!
Hooker James Malcolm marked his Champions Cup debut with a try at the posts after a highly effective driving line-out move and then Naiyravoro ran through three defenders to grab the third home score. The bonus point try came from the same player as he latched onto a pin-point cross kick from Finn Russell.
There was one final flourish from the Warriors with replacement lock Tim Swinson crashing over in the last move of the game and they are now back in the hunt in Pool 3.
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