Following Glasgow Warriors’ 22-19 triumph over Connacht, here are our five takeaways from the United Rugby Championship (URC) encounter at Scotstoun Stadium on Sunday.
The top line
Defending URC champions Glasgow Warriors returned to winning ways in the tournament and despite being without several of their first choice players, they were deserved winners against their opponents who pushed them all the way.
Converted first-half tries from Sebastian Cancelliere and Ben Afshar as well as a penalty from Duncan Weir gave the Warriors a 17-5 lead at half-time with David Hakwshaw crossing for Connacht’s only points during that period.
Despite atrocious weather conditions, with a howling wind and heavy rain prevalent throughout, both sides deserve credit for making this an entertaining spectacle as they employed expansive game-plans.
In the end, Glasgow’s first-half effort was enough to secure the win as their only points of the second period came courtesy of another Cancelliere try while Hawkshaw and his centre partner Piers O’Conor scored five-pointers for Connacht which were both converted by JJ Hanrahan.
Ben Afshar takes his chance
With George Horne called up for Six Nations duty with Scotland, young scrum-half Afshar was elevated to the run-on side for this encounter and Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith will be impressed by the youngster’s performance.
The 21-year-old caught the eye with a slick service to his outside backs and adapted well to the difficult weather conditions as he varied his play well with accurate box kicks which kept his opponents busy throughout.
Afshar also showed his class when he crossed for a deserved try during the latter stages of the opening half and his score came after benefitting from good support play after running onto a pass from Alex Samuel.
Afshar’s red-hot showing saw him playing for the full 80 minutes and his efforts were rewarded when he was named as the official Player of the Match after the game.
Glasgow’s big ball carriers lay the perfect platform
The weather was a major factor in this match and with the wind at their backs during the opening period, the home side made full use of those conditions as they restricted play mostly to their forwards before striking out wide with their backs.
Nigel Owens weighs in on Mack Hansen controversy as former Test referee hits out at ‘joke’ ban
Amongst the Glasgow Warriors forwards, the likes of Jack Mann, Johnny Matthews, Henco Venter and Samuel caught the eye with some solid carries which gave their side good momentum and provided a solid platform for their backs.
That worked well during the opening period and although they played into the wind after the interval the Warriors pack did well to keep the ball at close quarters in possession before the half-back duo of Afshar and Weir gave their team direction with impressive game management.
David Hakwshaw unlucky to finish on losing side
Glasgow Warriors had their noses in front for most of this match and although Connacht were on the back foot for long periods, outside centre Hawkshaw was arguably their best player after a fine attacking performance.
Although the conditions were against the visitors in the opening period, it did not seem to bother Hawkshaw and he was rewarded with a well-taken try early on after charging down a clearance kick from Ollie Smith.
Hawkshaw’s impressive attacking ability continued to trouble Glasgow as the match progressed and he added another try early in the second half after good work from Hanrahan and Byron Ralston in the build up.
Apart from his two five-pointers, the 25-year-old centre’s outstanding attacking play saw him finish with a match high 84 metres gained as well as two clean breaks and five defenders beaten.
Connacht late show not enough
Overall, the visitors gave a good account of themselves and although Glasgow held an edge throughout, the Irish province were competitive until this game’s closing stages.
Although the home side led by 10 points or more for most of this clash, Connacht would not surrender and were still in the match until its closing stages after O’Conor’s try in the dying moments.
However, a few crucial errors on attack – particularly in the second half – proved costly in the grander scheme of things for Connacht. In the 50th minute, Hanrahan struck an upright when lining up a shot at goal while, in the final quarter, Dave Heffernan and Shamus Hurley-Langton lost the ball when Connacht launched driving mauls deep inside Glasgow territory.
If those on attacking moves paid off, the Irish province could have finished as victors.
READ MORE: Ex-Ireland coach criticises Munster for ‘mucking around’ over naming Graham Rowntree successor
