Saracens 38-19 Glasgow Warriors

• 19 Jan 2019

Dave Rennie’s men showed just how lethal they can be in attack in a frantic opening 40 minutes before losing in a much tighter, more physical second half.

Knowing that their place in the Quarter Finals was already secured thanks to four consecutive victories in the Heineken Champions Cup, many expected to see Glasgow’s attacking brand of rugby on display in North West London.

However, it was the hosts who took control of the tie early. Ben Spencer scoring ten early points with a try and five from the boot to make Glasgow’s mountain that bit steeper.

Finding their feet after a wobbly opening 10 Glasgow struck. Brutal carrying from the forwards took them deep into Saracens territory before the backs were allowed to play.

A lovely pass from Sam Johnson found Stuart Hogg who pushed the ball further wide for Tommy Seymour to score.

Warriors struck again almost immediately after. Rob Harley charged down a Ben Spencer box kick and Ali Price collected the loose ball.

Spinning and stepping he found a gap in the Saracens defence and won the race to the try line grinning all the way. Less than 15 minutes played and three tries scored.

Supporters at Allianz Park barely had time to catch their breath. The hosts struck back just a few minutes later, a rolling maul forcing its way over the Warriors line.

Two minutes later the lead swung again. Price again breaking and Tommy Seymour setting up a good platform inches from the Saracens try line.

Ryan Wilson ran the perfect hard line to force his way over push Glasgow in front.

Billy Vunipola picked off the back of a 5m Saracens scrum to bundle his way over and regain the lead for the home side and when half time came the supporters in the stadium were relived of the break just as much as the players.

The second 40 was a much cagier affair and the two sides fought out a brutal arm wrestle for half an hour with no points scored either way.

Eventually Saracens got the upper hand, Maro Itoje eventually breaking the Warriors line with 10 minutes to go.

The home side scored again with the last play of the game to make the final score 38-19, one that does not accurately reflect Glasgow’s performance.