Cardiff fight back to sink Glasgow
URC REPORT: Theo Cabango scored two tries as Cardiff produced a second-half comeback to stun high-flying Glasgow 32-28 at the Arms Park.
The hosts were easily second best when they trailed 15-28 early in the second half, but a yellow card for Glasgow wing Sebastian Cancelliere was the catalyst for the hosts to turn around their fortunes.
Jason Harries and Willis Halaholo also scored tries for Cardiff, with Jarrod Evans adding three conversions and two penalties.
Cancelliere scored two tries for Glasgow, Sam Johnson and Fraser Brown one apiece, with Ross Thompson converting all four.
Cardiff took an early lead with a try from Harries, who rewarded some accurate play by forcing his way over in the corner.
Evans missed the conversion but was soon on target with a straightforward penalty before Glasgow responded with an excellent try.
From inside their own half, the visitors moved the ball sweetly before Kyle Steyn burst past a weak tackle from Halaholo and sent Cancelliere away on a 30-metre run to the line.
Cardiff were hindered from building up any momentum by losing four line-outs on their own throw in the first quarter.
This allowed their opponents plenty of decent possession and it came as no surprise when Glasgow took the lead, with Johnson squeezing between the attempted tackles of Josh Turnbull and James Ratti to score.
Glasgow soon followed up with their third try when Brown finished off a line-out drive, but the hosts responded with a try from Cabango, who seized on a loose ball to dart over and leave his side trailing 21-15 at the interval.
Within two minutes of the restart, the home side suffered a hammer blow when Cancelliere intercepted a pass from Ben Thomas to race 60 metres to score.
Glasgow looked in control, but Cancellierre was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on.
This gave Cardiff renewed hope and they came back into contention when Halaholo skipped past replacement prop Oli Kebble for their third try.
Cancelliere returned from the sin bin, but the hosts continued to dominate the second half and were rewarded with their bonus-point try when Evans created the opportunity for Cabango to score his second.
Evans converted before adding a late penalty to make sure of the victory.
Player of the match
Cardiff struggled against the potency of the Glasgow centres in the first half, but Halaholo raised his game in the second half to make valuable ground as a ball-carrier, with an excellent solo try being a deserved reward for his efforts.
Play of the match
Glasgow impressed with their creative attack throughout.
This was best exemplified with their first try, which began deep in their own half.
Given a bit of space, Kyle Steyn took full advantage by brushing aside a tackle before Cancelliere ran in under the posts to complete a 65-metre move.
The scorers:
For Cardiff:
Tries: Harries, Cabango, Halaholo, Cabango
Cons: Evans 3
Pens: Evans 2
For Glasgow:
Tries: Cancelliere 2, Johnson, Brown
Cons: Thompson 4
Teams:
Cardiff: 15 Hallam Amos, 14 Jason Harries, 13 Willis Halaholo, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Theo Cabango, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 James Ratti, 7 Josh Navidi, 6 James Botham, 5 Matthew Screech, 4 Josh Turnbull, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Kirby Myhill, 1 Rhys Carré.
Replacements: 16 Kristian Dacey, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Teddy Williams, 20 Ellis Jenkins, 21 Jamie Hill, 22 Garyn Smith, 23 Matthew Morgan.
Glasgow: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Sebastian Cancelliere, 13 Kyle Steyn, 12 Sam Johnson, 11 Cole Forbes, 10 Ross Thompson, 9 Ali Price, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Ryan Wilson (co-captain), 5 Richie Gray, 4 Scott Cummings, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Fraser Brown (co-captain), 1 Jamie Bhatti.
Replacements: 16 Johnny Matthews, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 Murphy Walker, 19 Kiran McDonald, 20 Ally Miller, 21 Jamie Dobie, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Stafford McDowall.
Referee: AJ Jacobs (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Ben Whitehouse, Simon Rees (both Wales)
TMO: David Rose (England)
Additional source: @URCOfficial
