From Saracens’ kick off, Glasgow Warriors were keen to set the tempo by winning a penalty in the first minute and earning a lineout in Saracens’ half. Saracens defended the set piece well, winning a penalty from the maul and taking a scrum. From here, play went back and forth with penalties from both side and possession flowing between the two halves.
After a Saracens scrum on the halfway line, Glasgow Warriors claimed the ball in the breakdown and a break from Alex Craig saw them enter Saracens 22’. After a few phases the ball was nipped out by Sione Tuipulotu to Warriors’ Ollie Smith to open up the evenings scoring. After a successful conversion from George Horne the score was 7-0 after 10 minutes.
Saracens were keen to hit back, and it showed. In that first 10 minutes they’d made some good offensive efforts but nothing had come of them, so when Saracens received two penalties in short succession, Owen Farrell stepped forward to put the away side on the board and close the gap. To a backdrop of boo’s the 12 has grown accustomed to, Farrell comfortably made it 7-3.
Like a shark smelling blood, the Glasgow Warriors sensed desperation from the kick, and they pounced. From the restart they marched Saracens back to their 22 and then their 5m mark. Glasgow attempted twice to break through the defence with 5m Lineouts, but to no avail. With the ball eventually falling to Saracens hands after a beautiful read and intercept from Lucio Cinti prevents Huw Jones from scoring.
Glasgow were not done yet. Akin to a cooking show ‘here’s one I made earlier’, Glasgow marched Saracens back to their try line with Horne taking the ball short side out of a scrum and running it with a chip and chase.
After slapping the ball down, Saracens’ Juan Martin Gonzalez is shown a yellow card just before Glasgow take another lineout on their 5m line. The Saracens forwards must have felt like David facing against Goliath as they defended the maul and managed to emerge the victors with a penalty in their hands. Unfortunately the moment was tainted as almost immediately a tussle and bustle broke out involving most of the players on the pitch.
After everyoee had taken 5 big breaths and calmed down, Glasgow took a tap and go from but its held up, Saracens just refused to let Glasgow bully them over the line.
It then looked as if Saracens might have a moment of respite, but just like that one bad memory, Glasgow just came back. Glasgow’s captain, Kyle Steyn, broke through and scored a lovely try beneath the posts. Which was quickly followed by a near identical try from Horne who also successfully converted both tries. Glasgow 21 – 3 Saracens 30 minutes in.
With 10 minutes left in the half Saracens decided they should back up their bark with a bit of bite. They battled into the Warriors 22 and I wondered if Farrell might take an opportunity for another 3 points with little time on the clock, but the away side pushed across the width of the pitch trying to claim themselves a try of their own before the half ended.
A steal of the ball from Glasgow saw cheers from some and cries of despairs from other as Glasgow held the ball as the clock ticked into half time.
Just as the second half began, the rain stopped, and almost as if the story of this game was put together by a novel author, the rain acted as pathetic fallacy for Saracens. There must have been a lot of fighting spirit in their halftime orange wedges as Saracens took charge and with a series of changes their first try seemed inevitable.
And yet, Glasgow, despite Kyle Rowe receiving a yellow for a head-to-head contact, they held on, and with penalty after penalty slowly pushed Saracens back on to their back foot, and back into their own half. However with the power of a literary technique on their side, Saracens once again claimed possession and quickly looked to hit back at Glasgow.
Despite Saracens keeping majority possession for the first 25 of this half, and most of that time spent within Glasgow’s half, nothing was coming from it. The Warriors seemed to win penalties exactly when they needed to to hold back the away onslaught.
With 5 minutes to go, the second half looked to be a scoreless one. But then, like an episode of Mr Ben; As if by magic, Kyle Steyn appeared, breaking through the Saracens defence only be toppled a couple of metres short of another score. Saracens did well to get back but found themselves with a second yellow with 23 leaving the pitch. Unfortunately Glasgow just couldn’t immediately capitalise and were pushed back to Saracens 22.
With a minute to go, George Horne was named player of the match and what a game he’d had, scoring Glasgow’s third try and giving them plenty of buffer with his boot.
As the time went into the red Glasgow Warriors won a lineout on Saracens’ 5m line, and looked to drive with a maul to secure an emphatic victory with all but two of the side pushing to cries of “Heave” from Scotstoun. Like a river flowing to the sea the score was inevitable, Seb Stephen, the replacement hooker, grounded the ball and the bonus point was secured, with Dan Lancaster finishing it off with a kick between the posts. Full time 28-3.
With the last fixture of the group stages of the champions cup wrapped up, Glasgow have placed themselves top of the pool and second overall, meaning they face South African side Vodacom Bulls when the tournament resumes after the 6 Nations in April.
