Warriors muzzle Tigers to create European history

A 43-19 win over Leicester Tigers marked the club’s first knockout win in Europe’s premier competition and set-up a quarter-final clash with Leinster.

Both as the home side and slight favourites, the Scotsoun supporters were stunned to see their side 5-0 down after just three minutes. Two penalties in quick successions set the stage for Leicester as double World Cup winner Handre Pollard opted for the corner with Ollie Cracknell delivering the first blow, powering over from close range.

Responding in equal measure, the Warriors set out their stall and camped in the Tigers 22, it would take until Henco Venter’s carry over the line in the 16th minute rewarded the intense pressure which had forced Jack van Poortvliet into a cynical sin-binning just a minute earlier.

A heat map that burn bright red in the visitors’ half would see Sione Vanuatu blaze through the Tigers’ defence TIME off the back of a scrum as the Leicester struggled to halt their opponents attacking prowess

Buckling under the tonnage Cameron Henderson became the second visiting player to see yellow, Hastings’ penalty ensuring Franco Smith’s side would go into the break with a healthy 17-5 lead, albeit a score that could have been greater were in not for the hosts’ handling errors blighting their flow in far from challenging conditions.

Showing no signs of letting up after the interval, Sione Vailanu made healthy plentiful as the back-rower bundled his way over for a brace less than a couple minutes after the whistle had blown, with the fly-half adding the extras to take the score to 24-5.

Floodgates well and truly opened, the Warriors made the most of the little time remaining before the Tigers returned to a full complement, Kyle Steyn’s brilliant carry creating disarray in the opposition defence to see Hastings find space and dot down before converting.

It seemed that the numerical equal footing did little to halt the momentum as the Warriors broke through a few minutes later with Kyle Rowe executing a two on one to put George Horne in and stretch the score to 38-5 with just under half an hour to go.

Refusing to roll over, the Tigers found a gap in the Warriors try-line with Solomone Kata pulling one back before Pollard converted.

By the 68th minute the game had been brought back to 38-19, with Hanro Liebenberg diving over, this time from a pick and go right off the Warriors’ line.

Yet for all the grit Leicester displayed, Glasgow showed some of their own and more, their signature driving maul not quite going over but giving Venter the space he didn’t need to add his second of the nigh, putting the home side 43-19 ahead and sealing the tie.

Victory marked a continued progression both in the competition, having been on the receiving end of a 90-19 trouncing by the Tigers in 1997, but perhaps more importantly in a psychological sense. A first knockout win in the club’s history will breed a different kind of confidence in the side that have already made their mark domestically and will now look to do the same in Europe.

Glasgow Warriors: K. Rowe, J. Dobie, S. McDowall, T. Jordan, K. Steyn (c), A. Hastings, G. Horne; N. McBeth, J. Matthews, Z. Fagerson, G. Brown, JP du Preez, M. Fagerson, S. Vailanu, H. Venter

Replacements: G. Stewart, J. Bhatti, S. Talakai, A. Samuel, E. Ferrie, R. Darge, B. Afshar, S. Cancelliere

Leicester Tigers: F. Steward, A. Radwan, D. Kelly, S. Kata, O. Hassell-Collins, H. Pollard, J. van Poortvliet; N. Smith, F. Theobald-Thomas, D. Cole, C. Henderson, H. Wells, H. Liebenberg (c), E. Ilione, O. Cracknell

Replacements: C. Clare, A. van der Flier, W. Hurd, T. Manz, F. Carnduff, B. Youngs, J. Shillock, J. Woodward

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