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April 14, 2017

Glasgow Warriors 45 - 10 Zebre

GUINNESS PRO14 match played at Scotstoun on Friday April 14th 2017 | No comments

Robert Harley ran in for Glasgow's third try
Warriors ran in seven tries in tonight's PRO12 win over Zebre at Scotstoun.

Scores for Nick Grigg, Robert Harley, Peter Murchie, Matt Fagerson, Sam Johnson and a double for Matt Smith meant Zebre's efforts to secure a third consecutive PRO12 win were in vain on a perfect night for running rugby at Scotstoun.

Zebre were dealt a blow within the opening five minutes as scrum-half Carlo Engelbrecht was helped from the field after appearing to twist his ankle, with Marcello Violi replacing him.

And as another Zebre player was down receiving treatment, Henry Pyrgos's clever passing set up a driving maul that went over the line. However, the ball was dropped before being grounded and the TMO ruled no try.

The Italians then suffered another blow as captain Valerio Bernabo also had to leave the field, with Derick Minnie coming on to replace him.

Warriors' pressure eventually paid off as Peter Horne fed Grigg, who was rifling through on a perfect diagonal angle to roll over the line and get the opening score - Horne making the conversion.

And a second score came before the 20-minute mark after another period of sustained Warriors pressure.

The home side moved the ball swiftly from the breakdown on the left touchline, with fullback Murchie the happy recipient with a simple finish on the right flank - Horne again successful from the kicking tee for a 14-0 lead.

Johnson was next to make a telling contribution, with his blistering break from his own 22 to that of Zebre, setting up a platform for the ball to be switched left and for flank Harley to run in a third try for Warriors - Horne adding the extras.

And a fourth came before 30 minutes were up, with Pyrgos feeding Chris Fusaro to break free and pass to Fagerson for a simple finish and Horne's fourth conversion.

Ten minutes into an uneventful second half Gregor Townsend rung the changes with three replacements coming on to shake up the Warriors pack.

And they had an immediate effect with the home side driving a scrum out of their own 22 and putting themselves on the attack.

After 15 minutes of scoreless play Rory Hughes thought he had got a fifth score for Warriors, but replacement Brian Alainu'uese was penalised for crossing in the build-up and the TMO chalked off the try.

But the score did come before the hour mark, with Fusaro breaking through to set up Johnson for his first Warriors try, bouncing back up after a tackle to dive over the line - Horne maintaining his 100 percent kicking record.

And five minutes later Smith was another to get his first Warriors score as the replacement bundled through from a rolling maul to go over in the left corner - George Horne not able to pick up where his brother left off with the replacement wayward from the tee.

But Zebre were not giving up and went right up the other end to score through Kayle van Zyl, Guglielmo Palazzani missing the conversion.

Normal service was resumed in the final ten minutes, however, as Glasgow drove over the line, only for Sean Lamont to be held up.

But a seventh try did come with five minutes to play, as Alainu'uese tried to drive over following a fine step off the left foot.

He was stopped short of the line but the ball popped up in the tackle and fell into the grateful arms of Smith, who went over for his second of the night - Horne adding the conversion.

Zebre got another consolation with two minutes to play as replacement Kurt Baker ran in a second for the visitors, but Palazzani's quick conversion bounced out off the post, summing up a tough night for the Italians in Glasgow.

Glasgow head coach Gregor Townsend: "I'm happy, there was a great crowd and we got the win. Zebre played a lot of good rugby and they were committed, and that's a big improvement on Zebre teams that have come here in the past. They've shown why they have won two games in a row and they were tough to break down, but this new team we had out tonight found a way to do that.

"We'll miss these nights and it's great to see so many fans turning up, when you're playing a team at the bottom of the table that are not bringing any fans and we are not going for the play-offs this year. The loyal supporters are still there supporting us."

Referee David Wilkinson (Ireland)
Attendance 7,321
Man of the Match Nick Grigg
Team
1
Alex Allan
2
Pat MacArthur
3
D'arcy Rae
4
Greg Peterson
5
Scott Cummings
6
Robert Harley
7
Chris Fusaro
8
Matt Fagerson
9
Henry Pyrgos
10
Peter Horne
11
Rory Hughes
12
Sam Johnson
13
Nick Grigg
14
Leonardo Sarto
15
Peter Murchie
Sub
Pat MacArthur
Sub
Jamie Bhatti
Sub
Sila Puafisi
Sub
Brian Alainu'uese
Sub
Matt Smith
Sub
Lewis Wynne
Sub
George Horne
Sub
Sean Lamont
Match Substitutions
Off On
Alex Allan Jamie Bhatti
Off On
D'arcy Rae Sila Puafisi
Off On
Greg Peterson Brian Alainu'uese
Off On
Chris Fusaro Matt Smith
Off On
Peter Murchie Sean Lamont
Off On
Pat MacArthur Cameron Fenton
Off On
Peter Horne George Horne
Off On
Matt Fagerson Lewis Wynne