Huw Jones helps Glasgow end losing streak
PRO14 SUNDAY WRAP: Glasgow Warriors ended their four-match losing streak with a hard-fought 19-10 win over Cardiff Blues at Rodney Parade.
Huw Jones came off the bench to score the pivotal try, intercepting Mason Grady’s pass to run in under the posts, after four penalties from a combination of Pete Horne and Brandon Thomson had laid the foundations.
Blues crossed through captain Kristian Dacey early in the second half but slipped to a fifth defeat in six matches – and their ninth in a row against the Warriors.
In Sunday’s other match, the Dragons beat Benetton 26-19 in Italy.
Blues were behind inside the opening minute at Leinster last time out but were quickly out the blocks themselves this time around, breaking the deadlock inside three minutes through the boot of Jarrod Evans.
Evans was conducting operations for Blues with his usual flair and soon released Aled Summerhill down the left with a well-timed pass that could have set the wing away were it not for an excellent covering tackle by Nick Grigg.
Glasgow worked their way back into the game and Pete Horne levelled the scores with a 14th-minute penalty, shortly after striking the upright with his first effort of the night.
Blues almost hit back immediately as Evans found Lane, off his wing to charge through the Warriors backline, but his pass inside was spilled by Tomos Williams just as the scrumhalf looked set for a run to the line.
Lane then thought he had scored the first try of the night just after the half-hour mark when he expertly claimed Williams’ box-kick and raced away to dot down.
But the try was referred to the TMO, who disallowed the score for a knock-on by flank Gwilym Bradley in the process of the rip tackle which earned Cardiff the turnover.
From looking like they were going to end the half in front, the hosts ended it trailing as Horne slotted over his second penalty to hand Glasgow a narrow 6-3 advantage.
The visitors started the second half on the front foot as they looked to add to their lead but a fine tackle by Aled Summerhill forced a knock-on from Ratu Tagive five metres out.
Summerhill then turned provider at the other end as Blues crossed for the first try.
His opposite wing Lane started the move, sending a grubber kick into space down the right and expertly gathering the pick-up, and the ball was then moved through the hands to Summerhill – his offload went to ground but found Dacey, who bulldozed over to put Blues back in front.
The lead lasted a little over ten minutes as Glasgow capitalised on Bradley’s yellow card for a deliberate knock-on, with Horne knocking over the resulting penalty from bang in front before Thomson did likewise soon afterwards with his first effort after coming off the bench.
Glasgow needed a try to settle the nerves and they were given a helping hand by their hosts in finding one, as Blues overplayed inside their own half and paid the ultimate price.
Jones read Grady’s pass and claimed a simple interception before strolling in unopposed, with Thomson’s conversion taking the lead past a converted score.
Thomson skewed a drop-goal attempt wide as the Warriors looked to add to their advantage.
Cardiff Blues 10-19 Glasgow Warriors
The scorers:
For Cardiff Blues:
Try: Dacey
Con: Evans
Pen: Evans
For Glasgow Warriors:
Try: H Jones
Con: Thomson
Pens: Horne 3, Thomson
Teams:
Cardiff Blues: 15 Matthew Morgan, 14 Owen Lane, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Aled Summerhill, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Josh Turnbull, 7 Gwilym Bradley, 6 James Ratti, 5 Rory Thornton, 4 Ben Murphy, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Kristian Dacey (captain), 1 Brad Thyer.
Replacements: 16 Ethan Lewis, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Keiron Assiratti, 19 Alun Lawrence, 20 Sam Moore, 21 Jamie Hill, 22 Mason Grady, 23 Hallam Amos.
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Glenn Bryce, 14 Lee Jones, 13 Nick Grigg, 12 Robbie Fergusson, 11 Ratu Tagive, 10 Pete Horne, 9 Sean Kennedy, 8 Ryan Wilson (captain), 7 Tom Gordon, 6 Rob Harley, 5 Kiran McDonald, 4 Lewis Bean, 3 Enrique Pieretto, 2 Grant Stewart, 1 Aki Seiuli.
Replacements: 16 Johnny Matthews, 17 Alex Allan, 18 D’arcy Rae, 19 Fotu Lokotui, 20 TJ Ioane, 21 Jamie Dobie, 22 Brandon Thomson, 23 Huw Jones.
Referee: Frank Murphy
Assistant Referees: Ian Davies, Mike English
TMO: Rhys Thomas
Benetton 19-26 Dragons
The scorers:
For Benetton:
Tries: Traore, Faiva, Menoncello
Cons: Keatley 2
For Dragons:
Tries: Hewitt, Roberts, Williams
Con: Davies
Pens: Davies 3
Teams:
Dragons: 15 Josh Lewis, 14 Owen Jenkins, 13 Adam Warren, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Ashton Hewitt, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Rhodri Williams (captain), 8 Ollie Griffiths, 7 Harrison Keddie, 6 Ben Fry, 5 Matthew Screech, 4 Joe Davies, 3 Lloyd Fairbrother, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Brok Harris.
Replacements: 16 Ellis Shipp, 17 Conor Maguire, 18 Aaron Jarvis, 19 Joe Maksymiw, 20 Taine Basham, 21 Tavis Knoyle, 22 Jack Dixon, 23 Jared Rosser.
Benetton: 15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Angelo Esposito, 13 Joaquin Riera, 12 Tommaso Benvenuti, 11 Leonardo Sarto, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage (captain), 8 Riccardo Favretto, 7 Giovanni Pettinelli, 6 Alberto Sgarbi, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Matteo Canali, 3 Tiziano Pasquali, 2 Hame Faiva, 1 Cherif Traoré.
Replacements: 16 Tomas Baravalle, 17 Thomas Gallo, 18 Zac Nearchou, 19 Davide Ruggeri, 20 Marco Barbini, 21 Callum Braley, 22 Tommaso Menoncello, 23 Luca Petrozzi.
Referee: Sean Gallagher
Assistant Referees: Manuel Bottino, Clara Munarini
TMO: Alan Falzone
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