Third Time Lucky For Warriors

by Dugald Skene

Glasgow Warriors have won for the first time this season, beating the RaboDirect Pro12 champions the Ospreys in Swansea 28-10.

The game was a story of defensive resolve from the Warriors, a familiar tale from last season when the Scots built their season on a tight defensive game.  The effort was epitomised by the Glasgow back row, led by the outstanding Chris Fusaro with cohorts James Eddie and John Barclay who outplayed their revered Osprey counterparts.  Fusaro in particular made a constant nuisance of himself, constantly involved at the breakdown.  Glasgow's tackle count outnumbered the Ospreys by 4:1.

To win though requires scoring and Glasgow took their opportunities when they presented themselves. And it was quite a gift they got as the Ospreys gave away the ball in the Warriors 22, gifted a loose pass to DTH van der Merwe who ran in from 80 yards to capitalise.  Glasgows possession play was considered if a little conservative, but ultimately successful.

Man of the match Chris Fusaro went over the line for Glasgow following some persistent forward play to give the Warriors a 15-0 lead at half time, the extras added by Duncan Weir.

The second half saw a resurgent effort from the Ospreys, but Glasgow continued their defensive effort, resisting waves of Welsh pressure. In a rare second half break into Ospreys territory, scrum half Rhys Webb was judged to deliberately pat down a Glasgow pass, earning him a 10 minute cool off in the sin bin.  Weir slotted the resultant penalty to take the Warriors 18-0 up.

The reduction in personnel seemed to galvanise the Ospreys as they launched another sustained foray into the Glasgow 22. Relentless pressure started to show as Glasgow began to infringe at the break down, James Eddie being judged the guilty party as the referee had seen one hand too many in the ruck. Both teams were down to 14 men for a few minutes.

Ospreys made the most of it, Dan Biggar converting the penalty from the breakdown offence and then scoring in the corner as the Ospreys attack stretched the resilient Glasgow defence to breaking point.

18-10, and the game was suddenly a lot tighter as the Ospreys were restored to their full complement. However, against the odds,  Glasgow repelled again, forcing their way down to the other end of the pitch to see DTH van der Merwe crash over the line with the help of some of his forwards. The decision went to the TMO but it was a clear cut decision. Glasgow had restored their 2 try advantage and stretched it to 15 points as Duncan Weir stuck over the conversion.

With 15 minutes to go, it was all Ospreys as they kept knocking on the Glasgow door.  But Glasgow stood firm in typically stoic fashion, either forcing Ospreys to make mistakes or backwards towards their own line.  A late scramble up the pitch saw Glasgow get another penalty, made all the easier with an extra 10 yards after Ospreys captain Alun Wyn-Jones made himself a little too outspoken to the referee's mind.

A fantastic win for Glasgow, tarnished only by the news that Scotland international Chris Cusiter went off with a nasty injury in the first half, an injury that may see him out for weeks if not months.

After two losses at Ulster and at home in their new stadium at Scotstoun to the Dragons, teams Glasgow would be expecting to beat, an away trip to Ospreys would have been considered the toughest of the 3 on paper.  But Gregor Townsends men have defied the odds and notch up their first win of the season, a win that should provide plenty of impetus going forward.