“It was extremely hard fought” | Stafford McDowall

21 Apr 2025

Glasgow Warriors travelled to Parma to face Zebre in what proved to be a close battle with only two tries scored by the Glasgow side.

BKT United Rugby Championship, Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma, Italy 19/4/2025 Zebre Parma vs Glasgow Warriors Zebre Parma’s Fetuli Paea tackled by Warriors Stafford McDowall Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Giuseppe Fama

Stafford McDowall caught up with glasgowwarriors.org to share his thoughts on the match.

“It was extremely hard fought”, McDowall said, “We knew that it was going to be tough. We looked at their results this season, during the week, and the way they played in South Africa against the Sharks, and their games against Edinburgh and Ulster. We have massive respect for them.

“We know that coming here as a team is hard. It was a really good test of us to come here and ground out a win heading into the business end of the season.”

McDowall was the scorer of the second try which secured the win for Glasgow after Sam Talakai made a break right in front of the posts.

“Sammy did all the work and I just fell over the line!” He said, “The bench had such an impact coming in.

“The boys going off had done a lot of hard work and the ones coming on did their jobs in the second half as Zebre started to tire a bit.

“We really clicked into gear for those 10/15 minutes there and it was enough to get it over the line.”

Hear from the boss after last night’s win 👇 https://t.co/P7AggwhyMu

— Glasgow Warriors (@GlasgowWarriors) April 20, 2025

The Glasgow side now head into their final regular season home game agsint the Bulls on Friday evening. McDowall is sure there will be learnings from the Zebre game to take into this next match.

“We know Zebre really targeted our breakdown this game and we know that Bulls will do the same. They are a really tackle and jackal heavy team and will bring a lot of physicality.

“It’s our last regular game at home. We know it’s a big game with a lot to play for, that second place available. So a big week and a big game ahead.

“Massive having the home advantage, it’s something we love is playing there with our fans and our families, so it’s something we hope our results can keep us playing there as long as possible.”