CONNACHT 20

GLASGOW 42

Garry Doyle reports from The Sportsground

WATCHING CONNACHT THIS afternoon was like watching a kid on Christmas morning trying to assemble a complicated jigsaw puzzle.

Ultimately some of their pieces just didn’t fit.

The line-out, for a start, failed to function; the breakdown was another area Glasgow bossed while the Scots’ attack, which has been good all season, was excellent again today. Six tries to two was just about right. They deserved this win. No one can argue otherwise.

For Connacht, the result doesn’t kill their season by any means but is certainly a setback. They aim to go far in this competition but after the intensity of recent interpro derbies, coupled with Champions Cup commitments, they looked emotionally exhausted here.

And Glasgow made them pay. They’re a decent team, one that flies under the radar, especially in the years since Hogg and Russell moved on. They can still play, though. Their half-backs, George Horne and Duncan Weir, were good; their locks, Richie Gray and Kiran McDonald, more than good; their flankers, Ryan Wilson and Tom Gordon, exceptional.

The story of the first-half revolved around Connacht’s line-out – or rather the absence of one. You feared for them from the moment Gray – all 6’9 of him – and McDonald, hardly a dwarf at 6’8 walked across the racetrack en route to the pitch prior to kick-off.

How would Dave Heffernan keep the ball away from these giants? The answer was with great difficulty, the Connacht hooker cursing Andy Farrell for taking Cian Prendergast away on international duty, while Oisin Dowling, a replacement, and Niall Murray, were also missed.

It showed. In a sense all three of Glasgow’s first-half tries stemmed from this source, their first following Gray and McDonald’s spoiling tactics on the opening throw of the game, Jarrad Butler penalised for a knock-on. From the subsequent scrum, Glasgow eventually got across in the opposite corner, Rufus McLean with a fine finish.

Gray was a dominant force at the line-out. Bryan Keane / INPHO Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO

While Gray would spend 10 minutes in the sin-bin during that half – Connacht scoring a converted try via Sammy Arnold in his absence – the Scottish international was still a key figure in those opening 40 minutes, his take from a five-metre line-out leading to Fraser Brown’s score just before the break.

In between times there was another Glaswegian try, this one arriving on 21 minutes, again launched off a line-out, Ryan Wilson the collector this time, before a rat-a-tat-tat exchange of passes between George Horne, Sione Tuipulotu and Kyle Steyn led to Steyn slicing through the Connacht defence. Fast, accurate, incisive, Glasgow were playing well; Connacht were barely playing at all.

For a while, they stayed within reach, Cathal Forde, their out-half, having a fine, steady debut, regularly finding touch, standing his ground in the face of charging Glaswegians, all the while distributing tidily. It was his pass that led to the Arnold try and his kicks that saw the Connacht score move onto 10 points by the half-time break.

Forde had a decent debut at out-half. Bryan Keane / INPHO Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO

They were lucky to have that many, lucky to be within seven, because it was Glasgow who had hit the right notes, Gray and McDonald’s considerable presence backed up by the jackal threat posed by Brown and Tom Gordon.

Turnover after turnover gave Glasgow easy access to Connacht’s 22. Was it not for the home side’s scramble defence and – don’t scoff – their excellent scrum, they’d have been miles behind.

As it was, within four minutes of the second-half, they had levelled things up, Paul Boyle with the try from close range, Jarrad Butler carving out the chance with a brave carry just seconds earlier. Yet the lead barely lasted  a couple of minutes, Gordon again doing well at the breakdown, Weir kicking the subsequent penalty. Connacht 17-20 Glasgow, 46 minutes played.

Weir and Forde exchanged penalties over the next five minutes – and then Glasgow went up another gear. In response, Connacht just couldn’t cope, Paul Boyle’s ten minutes in the bin proving to be costly, Weir’s creativity proving to be equally so. It was his looped pass that sent McLean in for his second, Glasgow’s fourth, try of the day.

That came on 60 minutes. On 63 there was another, this one for Steyn who collected his own chip to race clear, Connacht unable to regroup after Tiernan O’Halloran’s earlier clearance had failed to find either green grass or touch.

That put Glasgow 12 clear; a Weir penalty stretched that lead to 15 before the final try came via another line-out, Jonny Matthews getting on the end of a drive to finish off the scoring. Some day for Glasgow. They’re now 11 points clear of Connacht in the URC standings.

Connacht scorers

Tries: Arnold, Boyle

Conversions: Forde (2/2)

Penalties: Forde (2/2)

Glasgow scorers

Tries: McLean 2, Steyn 2, Brown, Matthews

Conversions: Weir (3/6)

Penalties: Weir (2/2)

Connacht Rugby: Tiernan O’Halloran, Alex Wootton, Tom Farrell (rep: Shayne Bolton ’23), Sammy Arnold, Diarmuid Kilgallen (rep: Oran McNulty ’58), Cathal Forde, Kieran Marmion (rep: Colm Reilly ’69), Jordan Duggan (rep: Denis Buckley ’50), Dave Heffernan (rep: Shane Delahunt ’60), Greg McGrath (rep: Tietie Tuimauga ’58), Ultan Dillane (rep: Sean Masterson ’63), Leva Fifita (rep: Oisin Dowling ’44), Eoghan Masterson, Jarrad Butler (CAPT), Paul Boyle (yellow card 54-64)

Glasgow Warriors: Ollie Smith, Sebastian Cancelliere (rep: Stafford McDowall ’73), Kyle Steyn, Sione Tuipulotu, Rufus McLean, Duncan Weir (rep: Ross Thompson ‘), George Horne (rep; Jamie Dobbie ’59) (rep: Jamie Bhatti ’52), Fraser Brown (rep: Johnny Matthews ’60), Enrique Pieretto (rep: Simon Berghan ’52), Kiran McDonald, Richie Gray (yellow card 8-18), Ryan Wilson (rep: Lewis Bean ’69), Thomas Gordon, Jack Dempsey (rep: Ally Miller ’44)

Replacements: Ross Thompson

Referee: Nic Berry (ARU)