Zebre Parma 21-26 Glasgow Warriors

A brace of tries from Gregor Hiddleston, in addition to a penalty try and a score from Adam Hastings, secured all five points for the Warriors, as Franco Smith’s men made it eight wins in a row across all competitions.

On a crisp evening in northern Italy, it was the home side who started the brighter, enjoying the lion’s share of territory and possession in the early exchanges. Yet the Glasgow defence, impenetrable the previous weekend, held firm, Rory Darge pouncing for an early turnover under the Parma floodlights.

Instead, it was the Warriors who opened the scoring on their first visit to the opposition 22 with 17 minutes on the clock. Successive penalties allowed Hastings to direct his team to the corner, before a Glasgow maul proved too powerful to stop for the Zebre defence. Only an illegal collapse by David Odiase could prevent the score, a penalty try for the Warriors and a yellow card for Odiase duly following from referee Robbie Jenkinson.

The maul was to prove the source of Glasgow’s second score of the night, too, as the Warriors once again put the squeeze on their hosts in the tight exchanges. This time it was Hiddleston who would be driven over by a 12-man maul, Horne adding the extras to give his side a 14-0 lead.

Restored to a full compliment of players, however, it would be Zebre who were next to trouble the scorers. Whilst the Warriors held up the initial maul from the hosts, there was no stopping Franco Carrera on the follow-up carry as the second-rower crashed over, Martin Roger Farias converting to the delight of the Parma faithful as the game ticked past the half-hour mark.

Glasgow’s response was swift, the Warriors notching their third try just two minutes later. Yet again the try came from the set-piece, Hastings finding the corner from 40 metres to allow Hiddleston to steer the maul over the whitewash for his second try of the evening. Horne made no mistake from the tee, and the scoreline read 21-7 to the visitors.

It was a lead that Smith’s men would hold until the interval, holding firm in the face of a late rally from their hosts as they sought to narrow the half-time deficit. Yet with Hastings in the sin-bin after a high tackle, the home side struck for their second score of the night eight minutes after the restart. Giulio Bertaccini’s short-line saw the centre find enough of a gap to power over, Roger Farias’ conversion cutting the gap to 21-14.

That would the extent of the scoring during the sin-bin period, however, with the Warriors instead coming the closest to adding to their tally. Only the Television Match Official could deny Stafford McDowall the bonus-point score, the evidence proving inconclusive on the question of grounding despite the beliefs of those in teal.

Instead, Smith’s men were the ones to exert the pressure, stretching the defence to its limit. First Carrera, then Leonard Krumov were dispatched to the sin-bin by referee Jenkinson, as the Glasgow maul continued to wreak havoc. The pressure eventually told with 15 minutes remaining; relentless carrying from the Glasgow pack gave Horne the platform to spin a sublime ball to Hastings, the fly-half finishing with aplomb in the corner. The conversion was off target, but the Warriors had the attacking bonus-point in the bag.

Yet Zebre were in no mood to throw in the towel, responding in kind to raise the volume inside the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi. Lorenzo Pani needed no second invitation when presented with an interception opportunity, the Italy international racing home from 40 metres for a score that – converted by Roger Farias – made it a five-point game with 10 minutes to play.

With the home crowd urging their side on, and the rain beginning to fall in Parma, the stage was set for a grandstand finish. The Warriors held firm once more, however, Seb Stephen’s chop tackle and Darge’s turnover earning a penalty on halfway with the clock in the red. Horne duly sent the ball into the stands to bring down the curtain on proceedings, and send Smith’s men top of the BKT United Rugby Championship standings.

Hard-earned and hard-fought – one more clash awaits the Warriors in six days’ time, as Munster come to Scotstoun for the final fixture before the international break.