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Racing 92 may have moved imperiously into the Champions Cup quarter-finals with a record breaking win over the Scarlets last weekend
Racing 92 may have moved imperiously into the Champions Cup quarter-finals with a record breaking win over the Scarlets last weekend, but Glasgow Warriors head coach Gregor Townsend has promised them a tricky final assignment in Scotland
The Warriors’ hopes of bidding for a place in the last eight were dealt a bitter blow in the final five minutes at Franklin’s Gardens last weekend following Tim Swinson’s yellow card for punching and Harry Mallinder’s dramatic try in the last play for Northampton Saints.
It mean the reigning Guinness PRO12 champions, with 10 points in third place at present, need the Scarlets to stop Saints from getting any points at all at Parc y Scarlets, pick up the full five points themselves and hope that three other teams don’t surpass their maximum total of 15 points. It is a pretty forlorn hope.
“We’ll be playing a quality side and we will be trying to get a win – our fans deserve that. It will be an exciting fixture for everyone, especially as we’re expecting a big crowd at Rugby Park in Kilmarnock,” said Townsend, who has got 16 of his players in the Scotland squad for the RBS 6 Nations.
“It is an important game for us as we want to put in a good performance. A quality playing surface and quality opposition should bring out the best in the squad.”
The game has been switched to the 18,128 all-seater Rugby Park stadium in Kimarnock because of the poor state of the Warriors’ Scotstoun pitch. The venue has a World Rugby compliant 3G pitch and hosted the first Tier 1 rugby international on an artificial surface in November, 2014, when Scotland beat Tonga 37-12.
Already more than 7,000 tickets have been sold for the game and that figure is likely to increase dramatically if Racing 92 opt to bring their World Cup winner Dan Carter with them. The Top 14 leaders still have a top three ranking position to play for, with the higher seeds theoretically getting the easier home draw.
The French side are unbeaten in their last 11 Champions Cup pool matches and are, according to Scarlets skipper Ken Owens, “the best team in Europe”. They beat the current PRO12 leaders 64-14 in Paris last weekend.
Match Facts
- This will be the second meeting between the sides in European competition with Racing 92 beating Glasgow 34-10 when they met earlier in this campaign.
- Glasgow Warriors have won three of their last five home fixtures in the Champions Cup, spanning their last two campaigns.
- Racing 92 are undefeated in their last five matches away from home in the Champions Cup (W3, D2).
- Glasgow Warriors have been kept to fewer than 10 points in three of their last four home fixtures against teams from France in the Champions Cup.
- Dan Carter has the best kick success of any player to attempt at least 10 kicks at goal this season (17/18 – 94%) and has made his last 14 kicks in a row in the competition.
Une deuxième défaite en six jours face aux Ecossais des Warriors éliminerait définitivement le vice-champion d'Europe. Une réaction d'orgueil est attendue à Glasgow vendredi (20h45). - 14/12/2016 11:10
Racing 92 suffered their first European Rugby Champions Cup defeat in two seasons after being well-beaten by Glasgow Warriors in Kilmarnock.
After a lifeless first half from both sides in which Finn Russell’s penalty was the only meaningful act, the game improved after the break and the Warriors took control of the contest.
A try from Stuart Hogg, 11 points from the boot of Russell and two penalties from Duncan Weir on his 100th appearance for the Warriors were enough to secure the win for Gregor Townsend’s side.
A try for Cedate Gomes Sa salvaged some pride for the visitors but with a home quarter-final already secured thanks to their record win over the Scarlets the previous week they won’t be too concerned with the defeat.
Racing started the game like a side with nothing to play for and the current Top 14 leaders struggled to put the Warriors under any pressure in the first half.
Russell’s penalty after seven minutes got the Warriors off to a good start but he had a mixed half, with as many errors as good passages of play.
He notched a second penalty shortly after the interval before Hogg got the game’s opening try with a smart finish after the home side patiently went through the phases.
Russell added the extras and a third penalty but it was Racing who scored next from a trademark driving line-out with Gomes Sa bundling over from close range.
Weir took over kicking duties from Russell and he made no mistake with his two penalties before the final whistle to give the Warriors a morale-boosting end to their Champions Cup campaign.
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