Glasgow Warriors 12-40 Wolfhounds

• 13 Jan 2024

Debut home tries for Phaedra Snailham and Louise McMillan ultimately proved to be mere consolations for Glasgow Warriors, as Wolfhounds dominated to take the win at Scotstoun in round three of the Celtic Challenge.

Glasgow Warriors kicked off the first half and immediately put Wolfhounds under pressure within their own half, putting Wolfhounds on the defence and edging closer to the 22 and the try line.

At the other end, Wolfhounds broke through Sophie Barrett, and looked as if they were going to score the first try until tackled on the five-metre line by Lucy Winter.

Following another promising attack by Wolfhounds, they were held up under the posts by Glasgow Warriors. The play restarted with a goal line drop out and Wolfhounds immediately pinned Glasgow back in their own half. After several phases of play, Wolfhounds eventually mauled over the try line for the first try of the afternoon, with hooker Sarah Delaney the one getting the ball down. Dannah O’Brien converted to give Wolfhounds the full seven points for their hard work.

It didn’t take long for Wolfhounds to once again find the try line through Linda Djougang, following a loose ball from Glasgow Warriors allowing the Wolfhounds to break and make the most of the error.  O’Brien once again added the conversion to double the lead.

Glasgow Warriors restarted play and immediately regained possession within the Wolfhounds half.  Many phases of positive attack by the Warriors showed how dangerous they can be heading forwards, Ceitidh Ainsworth breaking into the Wolfhounds territory.

As the game entered the last 10 minutes of the first half, Glasgow Warriors maintained possession, a pick and go from Louise McMillan seeing the home side move within metres of the try line in the corner of the pitch.  Quick thinking from Pheadra Snailham saw her power over the line on her debut to give Glasgow Warriors get their first try of the day.

With just one minute until the half-time break, Wolfhounds found the try line once more.  A lineout and various phases of play from the Irish saw Sophie Barrett break through the Glasgow defence and put the ball down.  The conversion saw Wolfhounds lead 21-5 going into the break.

After just two minutes of the second half, Wolfhounds had their fourth try under the posts as Katie Wheelan broke down the middle of the pitch and outpaced the Warriors chase. O’Brien was once more successful with the conversion.

The Warriors once more looked promising after winning a lineout within the Wolfhounds 22, but a dropped ball gave the possession away until a penalty a moment later gave the Warriors the chance of a lineout maul. The ball was recycled across the Warriors attacking line before Louise McMillan powered over the line for the try. Lucy MacRae made the conversion to move Glasgow Warriors to 12 points.

Wolfhounds responded quickly after sustained pressure in the Glasgow 22 as Ella Durkan touched the ball down in the corner as they capitalised on the open space left by the Glasgow defence.

Glasgow Warriors once again looked strong in attack as they move within metres of the Wolfhounds try line, only for the Irish side to turnover the ball and send the Glasgow team back to halfway.

Wolfhounds once more put Glasgow under sustained pressure inside the 22 as they hunted for another try as the game heads towards the final five minutes of play. Glasgow Warriors defence continued to hold strong and pushed the Wolfhounds back continuously as they denied them scoring opportunities. However, Wolfhounds won a scrum and Brittany Hogan grabbed the ball as the scrum collapsed and powered over the line to add her name to the scoresheet.  Once again, O’Brien’s conversion is successful.

Glasgow Warriors held strong for the final five minutes to deny the Irish side anymore points on the board, including holding up another attack from the Wolfhounds over their own line.

A tough first home game for the Glasgow side, sees them finish 12-40 against Wolfhounds.  Glasgow Warriors now head into a rest week before facing the Clovers at Scotstoun on January 27.