Glasgow Warriors 33-21 Connacht

A brace from the BKT Player of the Match, Kyle Steyn, saw the Glasgow skipper lead from the front, Patrick Schickerling, Josh McKay and Jare Oguntibeju also crossing the whitewash for Franco Smith’s squad.

See you at Murrayfield 😍 pic.twitter.com/HWDvGjKMEN

— Glasgow Warriors (@GlasgowWarriors) May 29, 2026

With the atmosphere inside Scotstoun at fever-pitch as Josh Ioane got play underway, it was the visitors who struck first. Whilst a seismic effort from the returning Scott Cummings saw him hold up Dave Heffernan, there was no denying Connacht captain Cian Prendergast just moments later as the flanker drove over from close-range. Sam Gilbert converted, and the Irish side led 7-0.

Undeterred, the Warriors duly responded with their first foray into Connacht territory. Repeated penalties inside the Connacht 22 gave the Glasgow pack the platform to go to work, with Schickerling eventually the man to make the crucial final carry and barge over. Horne converted well from a tricky angle, tying the scores at 7-7 after a frenetic opening 10 minutes.

The Warriors were now the ones exerting the pressure, and with Connacht continuing to concede penalty after penalty, the patience of referee Adam Jones eventually wore out. A Sione Tuipulotu line break took the centre from his own 10-metre line to the Connacht 22, forcing Connacht to drift offside and resulting in Sam Illo being sent to the sin-bin.

A nerve-shredding opening half passed without any further scoring, although not for the want of trying by either side. Johnny Matthews thought he had added a second try of the night for the men in black only for the officials to intervene, whilst a heroic effort saw captain Steyn chase back fully 70 metres to cut down Ioane as the fly-half looked to finish a breakaway score.

Having been influential in defence, Glasgow’s skipper then led from the front as the Warriors opened the second half in style. A beautifully measured 50-22 from Steyn gave the home side a lineout five metres out, and with advantage in hand the Warriors pulled the trigger in attack. Slick handling saw Sione Tuipulotu and Dan Lancaster combine to send Steyn racing over the whitewash, Horne converting for a 14-7 lead with 46 minutes on the clock.

It almost got even better for the hosts just moments later, Jack Dempsey sending Horne through a gap on his own 10-metre line before sublime offloading from Josh McKay and Steyn sent Matt Fagerson charging over the line. The officials had other ideas, however, spotting a forward pass from Dempsey in the lead-up to chalk off the score.

A third try wasn’t long in arriving, though, bringing Scotstoun to its feet. An almighty shove from the Glasgow pack gave the Warriors penalty advantage, allowing Lancaster in turn to float a sublime pass out in front to invite McKay into the attack. The full-back needed no second invitation, hitting the ball at full tilt to sprint over untouched, the conversion on target from Horne for a 21-7 advantage.

Connacht were in no mood to go quietly, though, setting about applying pressure of their own as they searched for a response. The score arrived with 17 minutes to play, Dave Heffernan doing enough to get the ball down despite the best efforts of the Glasgow defence. Gilbert converted after a lengthy delay due to an injury to Hugh Gavin, making it a one-score game once more.

Urged on by the Warrior Nation and with the pressure ratcheting up inside Scotstoun, the home side raised the roof by way of riposte. Down a man with Alex Samuel in the sin-bin, phase upon phase of possession inside the Connacht half stretched the visiting defence just enough to give Oguntibeju the moment he needed to scoop up the ball and burst through the ruck on the 22. The second-rower stretched his legs to gallop over for a crucial score. Horne’s conversion sailed through the upright against the backdrop of noise, giving the Warriors a 14-point cushion.

Finlay Bealham would crash over for Connacht’s last salvo with seven minutes to play, but the final word belonged to Glasgow. Steyn’s pressure from the restart forced the error and gave the Warriors a close-range lineout, before putting himself in the perfect position to gather Lancaster’s miss pass and race over in the corner. The conversion attempt from Lancaster was off-target, but the Warrior Nation were in no mood to complain.

The final whistle was met with a cacophony of roars from the Scotstoun faithful, rising to acclaim their side as they departed the field in Glasgow’s west end for the final time in 2025/26. Scottish Gas Murrayfield now awaits as the home of the Warriors for the semi-finals – and the Warrior Nation will be likewise making themselves at home.

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— Glasgow Warriors (@GlasgowWarriors) May 29, 2026