Glasgow coach on Bulls: 'That was another level of physicality'
REACTION: Glasgow head coach Danny Wilson admitted that his team were dominated in the physical exchanges in their clash with the Bulls in Pretoria on Friday.
The Bulls outscored the visitors by four tries to two for a 29-17 bonus-point win at Loftus Versfeld.
It was Glasgow’s second straight defeat in South Africa after they went down 7-32 to the Stormers a week earlier in Cape Town.
The Warriors dropped to seventh position in the United Rugby Championship table, while the win kept the Bulls in contention for a home quarterfinal.
Wilson said his team struggled to gain ascendency in most areas of the game in Pretoria.
“If I’m honest, that was another level of physicality,” Wilson told reporters after the game.
“I think we got taught a lesson in terms of physicality, which led to us coming second in the scrum and coming second at defending driving line-outs and the breakdown.
“The physical element of the game was far better from the Bulls and that hurt us.
“On top of that, we had several injuries that made us extremely disjointed. It put people in roles that they would never normally do.”
He added: “We started the game well. We scored a good try and we missed several opportunities to score more.
“I think the physicality at times drained us.
“I thought we got isolated in carries. There were huge men over the ball and we struggled to clean them off the ball and get pace in the game.
“We rely on getting pace in the game as you saw at the end.
“When we can get some pace in the game we can play some decent rugby, but we struggled to do that today.”
#ICYMI: The Bulls took another step closer to a play-off spot with a bonus-point win over Glasgow Warriors #URC #BULvGLA https://t.co/xJWwrW1afC
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A tough trip
After their two defeats on the road, Wilson said momentum is firmly with the South African sides heading into the play-offs.
“At the moment South African sides have home game after home game, which allows a fair bit of building momentum with some very good players back available for them,” he said.
“It’s a massive challenge coming down here and there is no doubt about that.
“It is not an enjoyable experience after the two losses we had, but it is a great experience in terms of coming here and trying to prepare against the quality of opposition here.”
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