Glasgow Warriors score precious away win
Dunbar recovered from a thigh injury to start at Newport Gwent Dragons and crossed over early in the second half, after Angus O'Brien had booted the hosts into the lead.
The Dragons – seeking to arrest a run of three straight defeats – crept into the lead once more but Duncan Weir went over inside the final ten minutes to settle a nervy contest at Rodney Parade and move the Warriors into the top half of the Pro12.
The Dragons flew out the blocks and forced an early penalty right in front of the posts – an easy nerve-settler for O'Brien, who made it 3-0 – before a smart Lewis Evans turnover got them out of trouble at the other end.
The trouble returned, however, and when the hosts were penalised at the breakdown 30 metres from goal, Weir levelled things up on 11 minutes.
But O'Brien hit back from an acute angle, after Rory Hughes was off his feet, and the Warriors were soon down to 14 men.
Leone Nakarawa did well to catch Nick Scott after the winger hacked clear but Greg Peterson obstructed O'Brien after he chipped through, earning him ten minutes in the bin and allowing the Welsh flay-half to make it 9-3.
The hosts struggled to capitalise on their advantage, though, and the next three points came courtesy of Weir's boot before Fraser Brown's hands in the ruck allowed O'Brien to restore a six-point gap.
Each side took their turn to threaten the opening try in the final ten minutes of the half and while the Men of Gwent looked the more likely, a resilient Warriors defence held firm until the break.
Glasgow began the second half as their hosts had begun the first and they struck almost immediately, Dunbar – making his first Pro12 appearance since November – powering through a gap to cross over.
Weir converted to put the Warriors ahead for the first time but they were soon behind again when hands in the ruck allowed O'Brien to slot his fifth penalty.
O'Brien missed his first kick of the evening after the Warriors were punished for crossing, while Weir opted for touch at the other end when the Dragons were penalised within sight of the posts.
The fly-half repeated the trick when Nick Crosswell failed to release and it almost paid off, Gordon Reid peeling off the maul to cross over only for referee Gary Conway to rule out the score.
Weir missed a straightforward penalty 15 minutes from time to leave his side two points back and he was soon let off – a high tackle from the Glasgow stand-off handed the Dragons a penalty but Carl Meyer sent it wide.
Heading into the final ten minutes, the Warriors began to assert their dominance and that crucial second try arrived, Josh Strauss finding a gap on the outside and offloading to Weir to score.
He missed the extras but that didn't prove decisive as the visitors saw out a narrow victory.
The scorers:
For Dragons:
Pens: O'Brien 5
For Glasgow:
Tries: Dunbar, Weir
Con: Weir
Pens: Weir 2
Yellow card: Greg Peterson (Glasgow Warriors, 16)
Teams:
Dragons: 15 Carl Meyer, 14 Ashton Hewitt, 13 Adam Hughes, 12 Adam Warren, 11 Nick Scott, 10 Angus O'Brien, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Lewis Evans, 7 Nic Cudd, 6 Nick Crosswell, 5 Matthew Screech, 4 Cory Hill, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Thomas Rhys Thomas (captain), 1 Phil Price.
Replacements: 16 Rhys Buckley, 17 Hugh Gustafson, 18 Lloyd Fairbrother, 19 Rynard Landman, 20 James Benjamin, 21 Charlie Davies, 22 Geraint Rhys Jones, 23 Ross Wardle.
Glasgow: 15 Peter Murchie, 14 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 13 Glenn Bryce, 12 Alex Dunbar, 11 Rory Hughes, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Mike Blair, 8 Josh Strauss (captain), 7 Simone Favaro, 6 Robert Harley, 5 Leone Nakarawa, 4 Greg Peterson, 3 Sila Puafisi, 2 Fraser Brown, 1 Jerry Yanuyanutawa.
Replacements: 16 James Malcolm, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 James Eddie, 20 Chris Fusaro, 21 Grayson Hart, 22 Fraser Lyle, 23 Lee Jones.
Referee: Gary Conway (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Leighton Hodges (Wales), Dai Cambourne (Wales)
TMO: Paul Adams (Wales)
