Zebre Parma 31-0 Glasgow Warriors

A youthful Glasgow Warriors squad opened their 2024/25 account with defeat this evening, falling at the hands of Zebre Parma in their opening pre-season encounter.

With one outing already under their belts, it was the home side who came out firing in the early exchanges. An early drive from the line saw Tommaso di Bartomoleo get the ball down for what the hooker believed was the opening try, only for the referee to chalk off the score for an infringement at the maul.

A superb try-saving tackle from the combination of Josh McKay and Ben Salmon would deny Ben Cambriani soon after, but the Italian outfit eventually found their way over the whitewash with 16 minutes on the clock. Recycling the ball through the phases, Alessandro Fusco was the man to snipe over from close-range, Giovani Montemauri adding the extras for a 7-0 lead.

In sweltering heat and humidity in northern Italy, neither side was giving an inch in an abrasive encounter. Jare Oguntibeju and Henco Venter were particularly prominent for the visitors, the former’s chargedown of Fusco almost setting Salmon free on the wing.

Instead, however, it would be Zebre who would strike for their second try of the night on the half-hour mark. Tom Jordan was millimetres away from intercepting Montemauri’s miss-pass, only for the ball to find its way to the hands of Giulio Bertaccini, The centre’s break into the 22 allowed him to offload to the supporting Albert Batista, Montemauri adding the extras for a 14-0 lead.

Back came the Warriors once more, with repeat penalties inside the Zebre 22 allowing Duncan Weir to direct play into the corner time after time. When Venter was penalised for not releasing at the ruck in a split-second decision, though, the home side took their cue, booting the ball out to bring down the half-time curtain.

With a vastly different lineup taking to the field for the start of the second half, the Warriors signalled their intent to attack from the opening moments. Duncan Munn and Johnny Ventisei almost connected off first-phase ball, whilst Sean Kennedy’s clever tap-and-go saw the scrum-half lead the charge into the Zebre 22.

Once more the Glasgow chances would go begging, however, and Zebre would take full advantage on their first visit to the Warriors 22 after the restart. Gianpietro Ribaldi was the beneficiary of a powerful rolling maul from close range, and whilst Montemauri couldn’t add the extras, Zebre had a 19-0 lead.

Under pressure, the Warriors almost produced a moment of magic as Richie Simpson’s interception a metre from his own try-line saw the fly-half race clear. Cambriani showed his own pace to chase back, however, snuffing out the opportunity at the expense of a 70-metre concession in territory.

With a host of changes for both sides, Zebre would pounce for their fourth score as the Warriors looked to attack from deep. Filippo Bozzoni was on hand to scoop up the loose ball and dart over from 25 metres, with Geronimo Prisciantelli’s conversion making it 26-0 to the hosts as the clock continued to tick down.

The home side’s fifth try arrived in almost carbon-copy fashion, as a missed connection in midfield allowed Prisciantelli to hack the ball downfield. Despite a lung-busting effort from Macenzzie Duncan to chase back, the Zebre fly-half had too much pace, the wide angle beating his conversion attempt to leave the scoreline at 31-0 to the men in yellow.

With one final attack from the young Warriors snuffed out, the final whistle would sound on proceedings. Franco Smith’s side now turn their attention to next weekend and a return to Scotstoun, as Connacht visit Glasgow’s west end for The Famous Grouse Pre-Season Friendly.