Warriors bag comfortable Blues victory
The hosts made a fast start and scored early through Pat MacArthur but the Blues bit back and scored just before the break through wing Blaine Scully. But that was as good as it got for Cardiff, as Murchie scored two simple tries in the corner following excellent work from Scotland wing Tommy Seymour.
Hooker James Malcolm put Glasgow out of sight shortly after to confirm the bonus point, while Rhun Williams scored a late consolation for the Blues.
Glasgow made a fast start and attacked from the off, with Finn Russell gaining good territory and the pack powering forward. A neat break from Seymour put the Warriors five metres out, but some good defending from Matthew Morgan prevented Glasgow from scoring.
However, a few minutes later MacArthur powered his way over from a few metres out. Glasgow enjoyed 94 percent of the possession in the first 15 minutes and the Blues were permanently under the cosh, but the hosts failed to make their dominance count.
The Blues looked good with ball in hand on the rare occasions they did break into the Glasgow 22, and they should have scored when Lloyd Williams and Rey Lee-Lo created space down the right for wing Alex Cuthbert, but he spilled the ball metres from the line.
Russell hit a penalty for Glasgow shortly after, but the Blues had the last laugh in the first period when the Warriors flyhalf misplaced a kick that fell perfectly for Scully and he darted in for a simple score in the corner.
For all of Glasgow's early dominance, they found themselves level just minutes into the second half as Steven Shingler neatly booted a penalty. But they bounced back quickly as Seymour broke from deep by using his pace to burst through Cardiff's defence, and slipped it through to Dunbar.
Cardiff kept him at bay, but Murchie came in and carried the loose ball over the line for his first of the night. The dangerous Glasgow backs began to cause Cardiff a whole host of problems, and they struck again shortly after Ali Price slipped Seymour through.
The wing was brought down but some quick ball set up Murchie for his second in the corner, and a bonus point was secured when hooker Malcolm touched down from close range.
Cardiff kept pushing, looking for a way back, but they were forced to settle for a consolation as substitute Rhun Williams crossed in the corner following a neat move to the right.
Scorers:
For Glasgow Warriors:
Tries: MacArthur, Murchie 2, Malcolm
Cons: Russell 3
Pen: Russell
For Cardiff Blues:
Tries: Scully, Williams
Con: Shingler
Pen: Shingler
Teams:
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Peter Murchie, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Alex Dunbar, 11 Lee Jones, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ali Price, 8 Ryan Wilson, 7 Simone Favaro, 6 Josh Strauss, 5 Jonny Gray (captain), 4 Tim Swinson, 3 D'arcy Rae, 2 Pat MacArthur, 1 Gordon Reid.
Replacements: 16 James Malcolm, 17 Alex Allan, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Rob Harley, 20 Adam Ashe, 21 Grayson Hart, 22 Rory Clegg, 23 Sean Lamont.
Cardiff Blues: 15 Matthew Morgan, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Willis Halaholo, 11 Blaine Scully, 10 Steven Shingler, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Josh Navidi, 7 Sam Warburton (captain), 6 Ellis Jenkins, 5 James Down, 4 Macauley Cook, 3 Anton Peikrishvili, 2 Kristian Dacey,1 Rhys Gill.
Replacements: 16 Matthew Rees, 17 Brad Thyer, 18 Scott Andrews, 19 Jarrad Hoeata, 20 BJ Edwards, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Nicky Robinson, 23 Rhun Williams.
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Frank Murphy (Ireland), Keith Allan (Scotland)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)
