GLASGOW ended a disappointing Champions Cup campaign on a high with a battling victory over the Pool 3 winners - but it may have come at a price for Scotland. Alex Dunbar, who began the match with his right thigh strapped up, limped off in the second half. With Mark Bennett and Peter Horne already out of action, Scotland coach Vern Cotter’s options at centre may have shrunk even further.
The match at Rugby Park was watched by a record attendance for a Warriors European game, but the crowd had to be patient throughout a dull first half before enjoying a livelier second period.
Finn Russell opened the scoring with a fifth-minute penalty, but for almost the entire half after that the game became bogged down in a midfield battle. The heavy rain and the unfamiliar artificial surface had something to do with that, and, with little to play for, both teams were happy to play running rugby. Even so, a more direct approach from either side would have added some much-needed bite to the contest.
In the final ten minutes of the half a crossfield punt from Russell was perfectly placed for Taqele Naiyaravoro to run on to, but the winger fumbled when a clean take would have given him a good chance of powering past the last defender to score. Racing ended the half on top, but the teams went in with the score still 3-0.
After six minutes of the second half, Russell doubled that lead with a penalty from the edge of the Racing 22. With the rain off, the error count had dropped considerably.
Dunbar then limped off after apparently taking a knock, to be replaced by Lee Jones. That did not disrupt Glasgow’s increasing self-confidence, however, and after 55 minutes they were on the scoreboard again.
A forward drive was held up on the French line, and when the ball came back Sam Johnson ran a dummy line allowing Russell to put Stuart Hogg through. The stand-off converted the full-back’s score, then added another penalty a few minutes later. Russell then gave way to Duncan Weir, who was making his 100th appearance.
With quarter of an hour to play, Cedate Gomes Sa reduced the deficit with a try following a forward drive, but Brice Dulin’s conversion attempt went wide. Weir soon eased his team further ahead with a penalty, and he added another with three minutes to play.
GLASGOW: Try: Hogg. Con: Russell. Pens: Russell 3, Weir 2.
RACING 92: Try: Gomes Sa.
Glasgow Warriors: S Hogg; T Naiyaravoro, A Dunbar (L Jones 50), S Johnson, T Seymour; F Russell (D Weir 63), A Price (G Hart 63); A Allan (J Malcolm 57), S Mamukashvili (J Yanuyanutawa 57), S Puafisi (Z Fagerson 57), G Peterson (S Cummings 70), J Gray, J Eddie, S Favaro (C Fusaro 53), L Nakarawa.
Racing 92: B Dulin; L Dupichot, H Chavancy (E Dussartre 64), A Dumoulin, M Andreu; R Tales (B Dambielle 70), M Machenaud (X Chauveau 50); J Brugnaut (V Lacombe 50), C Chat (D Khinchagishvili 50), L Ducalcon (C Gomes Sa 50), L Charteris, F Van der Merwe (J Kruger 71), W Lauret, B Le Roux (T Dubarry 67), C Masoe.
Referee: W Barnes (England). Attendance: 9,063.
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