“The Warrior Nation were class.” | Rory Darge

• 31 May 2024
• Reaction

Glasgow Warriors secured a bonus-point win against Zebre Parma in the last league game of the BKT URC this season.

The visitors put Franco Smith’s side under pressure throughout the game, but the home side held firm. Johnny Matthews scored two more tries bringing him to a total of 14 this season. He firmly retains his position of the league’s top try-scorer. Six tries gave Glasgow a 38-26 win.

Rory Darge was named Player of the Match after putting in a strong defensive shift. He gave his thoughts on the Round 18 game.

“It’s nice to get a win after two losses,” Rory said. “Two hard-fought games that we came out of the wrong side of. This was another hard-fought game, and it was very close. It’s good to get the win despite it being a little bit nervy and the pressure being on us.

“I think there’s a lot we can do better. We’ve obviously not watched the game back yet, but I feel like we create a lot of attacking opportunities and we defended well. But we left a lot of points out there.”

The Warriors certainly bounced back from being down going into halftime. They scored four tries in the second half.

Scotland second rower Richie Gray had a fantastic game after starting in the XV since his injury.

“It’s great to have Richie back,” Rory said. “It’s always good to play with a guy like him. He’s so professional, especially the way he goes about his business throughout the week. He’s confident and he brings that to calling the line outs: he’s in control.”

Rory also commented that it was positive for his side to welcome the return of Scotland centre Huw Jones after recovering from a hand injury.

“It was great to have Huw Jones back too after his injury. Great to play with both again in front of a home crowd.”

Although Glasgow didn’t have the game going their way for a full 80 minutes, the fans’ support consistently lifted the Warriors to help them get over the line for a bonus-point win.

“The Warrior Nation were class. Despite the errors and not showing as much as we would like to have shown in attack, the fans were really behind us. It made a massive difference.”

Rory praised the crowd for their consistent support. He hopes they will bring it again for the quarter-final of the BKT URC.

“There were a couple of moments where their cheers were noticeable, which isn’t often in games of rugby. The crowd’s backing was awesome. We know we’re up all next week for the quarter-final and their support will again be massive.”

Glasgow Warriors had already secured a home quarter-final and who they play in that match will be determined by the rest of the Round 18 games this weekend.