La Rochelle dent Glasgow's quarterfinal hopes
MATCH REPORT: Glasgow Warriors’ chances of reaching the Champions Cup quarter-finals are hanging by a thread after they suffered a 7-12 defeat to La Rochelle in grizzly conditions at Scotstoun.
Without a win before today in Pool 2 and having lost at home to Glasgow last weekend, La Rochelle looked to be in for another tough afternoon when the home side’s hooker Fraser Brown was shoved over the line in a maul after a smart lineout move, with Adam Hastings adding the conversion.
But after that 15th-minute setback, they clawed their way back into the game. A precise grubber from Rieuc Plessis saw Jules Favre just about touch down in the corner, then Paul Boudehent’s sublime offload was the highlight in a move which saw Lepani Botia dart over from short range. Brock James converted this time.
Nick Grigg was somehow held up on the line as Glasgow exerted pressure but even when Alexei Bales was sin-binned for kicking the ball away in the scrum, the hosts just couldn’t break through.
Their momentum seemed to have subsided, until the 79th minute when Scott Cummings went over in the corner to spark scenes of jubilation.
However, the TMO had spotted something amiss in the build-up – it was Matt Fagerson leading with his forearm high into the throat of Marc Andreu, who needed treatment. The try was chalked off and Fagerson red carded. Glasgow’s chance had gone.
The scorers:
For Glasgow Warriors:
Try: Brown
Con: Hastings
For La Rochelle:
Tries: Favre, Botia
Con: James
Yellow card: Alexi Bales (La Rochelle, 64)
Red Card: Matt Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors, 79)
Teams:
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Tommy Seymour, 14 Niko Matawalu, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Stafford McDowall, 11 Kyle Steyn, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 Ali Price, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Callum Gibbins (captain), 6 Ryan Wilson , 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Scott Cummings, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Fraser Brown, 1 Aki Seiuli.
Replacements: 16 George Turner, 17 Alex Allan, 18 Adam Nicol, 19 Rob Harley, 20 Tom Gordon, 21 George Horne, 22 Nick Grigg, 23 Ruaridh Jackson.
La Rochelle: 15 Kini Murimurivalu, 14 Jules Favre, 13 Brieuc Plessis-Couillaud, 12 Levani Botia, 11 Marc Andreu, 10 Brock James, 9 Alexi Bales, 8 Grégory Alldritt, 7 Paul Boudehent, 6 Kevin Gourdon (captain), 5 Mathieu Tanguy, 4 Thomas Lavault, 3 Sila Puafisi, 2 Facundo Bosch, 1 Reda Wardi.
Replacements: 16 Brendan Lebrun, 17 Dany Priso, 18 Vincent Pelo, 19 Rémi Leroux, 20 Zeno Kieft, 21 Thomas Berjon, 22 Ihaia West, 23 Pierre Aguillon.
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees: Christophe Ridley (England), Paul Dix (England)
TMO: Rowan Kitt (England)
