WITH two victories from an extremely tough run of four matches, Glasgow have started the season moderately well. And, as Gregor Townsend said after his team lost 22-17 at home to Ulster on Friday night, their haul of four bonus points gives them a tally that could also have come from three run-of-the-mill wins.
No need to push the panic button, then. The Warriors played some excellent rugby to see off Connacht and Leinster, ran Cardiff close with a significantly understrength side, and showed excellent character to fight back against Ulster after being overrun at times in the first half.
What must be a concern to Glasgow, however, is the extent to which they were outmuscled by the Irish province in general, and by winger Charles Piutau and prop Rodney Ah You in particular. On another night, at least one of Ulster’s two disallowed first-half tries would have been given, and they would have been out of sight by half time.
As it was, the Warriors did rally to take the lead after the break, only to have it snatched away within minutes. “There definitely were periods of the game when you could feel it just wasn’t going our way,” forward Fraser Brown said. “Then we’d get on top and they’d come back. In those conditions, once we scored we really needed to look for secure ball and play a little bit of territory.
“In the second half we had maybe four or five opportunities down in their 22 and only came away with points once. We maybe have to look at how we can keep the scoreboard ticking over, whether it’s three points from a drop goal, or trying to eke out a penalty - just something to keep the pressure on so we’re not battling and battling and going through the phases then finding ourselves 40 or 50 metres back down the pitch.”
As long as they continue to create those opportunities and begin to convert them into more points, Glasgow should be back on track in the next two games, away to Dragons then Zebre. Their start to the season could hardly have been more daunting, but those trips to Wales and Italy look like ideal preparation for next month’s European Champions Cup campaign.
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