GLASGOW Warriors finished the European Champions Cup the way they would have loved to have started it with an all-action win over English champions Exeter Chiefs and the form of Stuart Hogg and Tommy Seymour, the two British & Irish Lions returning after injury lay-offs, providing a major boost for Scotland head coach. Gregor Townsend.
Glasgow head coach Dave Rennie said: “I thought they were both great. It is what you know with Hoggy, he is so enthusiastic and has that ability to stress teams. It was only his third game this year and Ruaridh Jackson has done a superb job but Hogg is one of the best in the world and you saw why out there.”
In the event, the performance was all too little too late for Glasgow, but it did give Rennie the confidence that his team are capable of taking on the best teams in Europe and coming out on top.
“It was a great effort, the ability to turn the screw after half time was important,” he said. “Exeter were probably thinking we had made a lot of tackles [in the first half] and would tire but it was a great response and we managed to hang on in the end.
“We talked about trying to play with width, there were some really good decisions on the side line to run and there was some really good support. I have mentioned before we are a really fit side and we saw that in this game.”
While the potential loss of centre Alex Dunbar, who went off with a head injury, and hooker George Turner, who damaged a knee, will have worried Townsend, he must have been delighted with every other aspect of the performance from the players he is going to rely on in the Six Nations.
It only took Hogg 77 seconds to get Glasgow on the scoreboard, tracking inside a break from Finn Russell and support run from George Horne to take the ball the final 20 metres to the try line. With Russell converting, it gave the home side an early cushion they needed as Exeter pummelled them for the rest of the half.
The only fleeting moments of attack mostly came from Hogg’s bag of tricks but on the whole it was backs-to-the-wall with Huw Jones pulling off one particularly important try-saving tackle on Exeter centre Ian Whitten, holding him up over the line to stop him grounding the ball.
It could not last, though and with almost the final move of the half, No 8 Dan Simmonds finished a series of pick and drives to leave the teams level at the break and set up a storming second half.
Again it was Hogg who was the Glasgow inspiration as he started to find space and wreak havoc outside the visitors’ defence. The go-ahead score was a penalty try; Hogg setting up the attacking position and referee Roman Poite ruling that Exeter scrum-half Nic White had deliberately knocked on as Russell went to get the ball away to two men spare on the outside.
Then Hogg exploded down the touchline and with Horne again acting as the link man, Seymour finished it off. Glasgow seemed to have made the game safe with their third try in 10 minutes when Matt Fagerson finished another Hogg break – Seymour the link man this time – to ensure a scoring bonus point.
It was a more nervous final quarter than it should have been as Exeter suddenly remembered they had dangerous runners in the backs and started to find space, with flanker Don Armand and Whitten both going over for late tries that brought the prospect of a bonus-point draw that might have given Exeter a chance of going through but in the end Glasgow regathered themselves and saw the game out.
Glasgow Warriors: Try: Hogg, Pen try, Seymour, Fagerson. Cons: Russell (3), Pen con.
Exeter: Try: Simmonds, Armand, Whitten. Cons: Steenson (3).
Glasgow Warriors: S Hogg; T Seymour, H Jones, A Dunbar (P Horne, 13), L Sarto (L Jones, 57); F Russell, G Horne (A Price, 70); J Bhatti (A Allan, 52), G Turner (G Stewart, 8), S Halanukonuka (D Rae, 52), R Harley, J Gray (C), M Fagerson, M Smith (C Fusaro, 29), A Ashe (C Fusaro, 9-18, G Peterson, 72).
Exeter Chiefs: P Dollman; L Turner, H Slade (J Simmonds, 63), I Whitten, O Woodburn; G Steenson (C), N White (sin bin: 52-62, W Chudley, 61); B Moon (M Low, 63), L Cowan-Dickie (E Taione, 63), H Williams (T Francis, 50), M Lees (T Salmon, 62), J Hill, D Ewers (M Kvesic, 51), D Armand, S Simmonds.
Referee: R Poite (France)
Attendance: 7351
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