Glasgow Warriors 19-26 Vodacom Bulls

A valiant late effort from Glasgow Warriors came up just short at Scotstoun this evening, as the Vodacom Bulls claimed a 26-19 victory under the Friday night lights.

Tries from Jamie Dobie, Kyle Steyn and Stafford McDowall yielded a valuable losing bonus-point for Franco Smith’s squad, who remain in second place in the BKT United Rugby Championship standings as a result.

In front of a packed house at Scotstoun, the Warriors began the match in thundering fashion. Steyn’s early break almost set up the opening score within 90 seconds, whilst only a superb cover tackle from Jan-Hendrik Wessels would deny Sebastian Cancelliere with just seven minutes played.

Despite Glasgow’s early endavours, it was the visitors who opened the scoring after 17 minutes, Johan Goosen making no mistake with a penalty from 40 metres to give the South African side the advantage. The fly-half would then double his side’s lead six minutes later, bisecting the posts from halfway to put the Bulls by six points.

All of the rugby was being played by those in black, however, and with six minutes to play the Warriors brought a sold-out Scotstoun to its feet. With Wilco Louw in the sin-bin for head contact on Patrick Schickerling, the home side took full advantage. Surge upon surge from the pack drew penalty advantage, allowing McDowall to thread the needle and send Dobie – with his first touch – over for the score. Horne added the extras, and the Warriors led 7-6.

Goosen would restore the Bulls lead with 45 seconds remaining in the half, his penalty attempt having just enough to clear the crossbar and hand the Pretoria outfit a 9-7 lead at the break, a lead they would extend 10 minutes into the second half. Whilst the Warriors would repel an initial close-range maul, Johan Grobelaar would have just enough power to ride the challenge of McDowall and touch down for the try. Goosen added the extras from the touchline, giving the Bulls a 16-7 advantage.

A fourth successful penalty from Goosen gave the visitors a two-score lead with 55 minutes on the clock, the Scotstoun faithful urging their side on with increasing urgency as the Warriors sought a foothold in the second stanza. Instead, however, the Bulls would strike for their second try on the hour mark; turnover ball saw Goosen kick in behind the Glasgow defence, with Sebastian de Klerk winning the foot race and offloading to David Kriel for the score. The conversion made it 26-7 in favour of the South African side, leaving the Warriors with a mountain to climb inside the final quarter.

Undeterred, Franco Smith’s side continued to come forward, urged on by the Warrior Nation. Sione Vailanu and Rory Darge combined to send the latter hurtling through the defensive line, with only some scramble defence from the visitors denying Glasgow the breakthrough.

With four minutes to play, the Glasgow pressure eventually told as the Bulls defensive wall eventually broke. Swift handling from the set-piece saw Adam Hastings and Ollie Smith combine to set Steyn free out wide, the captain racing over for the score. Horne’s conversion drifted wide, but the Warriors had the momentum.

The noise inside Scotstoun was then ratcheted up even more just two minutes later, as Glasgow struck from deep for a quickfire double. Smith’s dancing feet and acceleration took the full-back through a gap and over halfway, before finding Tom Jordan with an out-the-back offload to take play into the Bulls 22. With numbers out wide, Steyn this time turned provider, sending McDowall charging through the gap and over the line. Horne’s conversion brought Glasgow back to within seven points, and left the Warrior Nation dreaming of a famous comeback.

The Bulls would see out proceedings to take victory with the final play of the match, leaving the Warriors to console themselves with a losing bonus-point as reward for their fightback. A week’s break now precedes a brace of away trips to close out the regular season, starting with a visit to playoff chasing Benetton in a fortnight’s time.