| Glasgow Warriors (28) 52 |
| Tries: Brown 2, Forbes, M Fagerson, Horne, Z Fagerson, Gordon, McDowall Cons: Horne 6 |
| Cardiff Rugby (10) 24 |
| Tries: Adams, Dacey, Belcher Cons: Evans 2, Priestland Pens: Evans |
Glasgow Warriors turned in a ruthless display to blow Cardiff away with eight tries at Scotstoun in the URC.
The hosts recovered from the early loss of Rory Darge to injury and a try from Josh Adams.
With Thomas Young in the bin, Fraser Brown, Cole Forbes and Matt Fagerson all touched down, and George Horne secured a bonus point before half-time.
Brown scored again in the second half, along with Zander Fagerson, Tom Gordon and Stafford McDowell.
In a whirlwind contest, Kristian Dacey and Liam Belcher also got on the board for Cardiff, who have never managed a win at Scotstoun.
The visitors, buoyed by a opening success at home to Munster, did get off to a great start as Adams ran in a lovely, looping pass from Jarrod Evans following a powerful surge from Max Llewellyn.
The opening score came after a long interruption as Scotland flanker Darge suffered a gruesome ankle injury but the hosts, who suffered a skelping at Benetton last weekend, wasted no time feeling sorry for themselves.
And the game turned in a flash when Young was shown a yellow card for cynically slowing the ball down as Glasgow pressed.
Brown crossed from a rolling maul and, from the re-start, Glasgow moved in front as Forbes finished off a blistering move from deep, with Sione Tuipulotu and Sebastian Cancelliere eating up the ground.
Matt Fagerson then barrelled over from another line-out and suddenly there was significant daylight between the sides.
With Young returning to the fray, Tom Jordan was going the other way after making a glancing contact to the head in a tackle, although the visitors failed to profit from their spell with a man advantage.
Evans knocked over a penalty but the home fans were soon celebrating again as the impressive Horne sniped over after Richie Gray was held up just short.
Dacey briefly reduced the deficit early in the second half, but Glasgow responded with bludgeoning power as Zander Fagerson reached out to score from a thundering rumble under the posts.
Cardiff replacement Uilisi Halaholo was the third recipient of a yellow card after catching Brown high and moments later the Scotland hooker was touching down for the second time.
Glasgow fly-half Jordan thought he had scored his first professional try but a late intervention from the TMO – after Horne’s conversion attempt hit a post – picked up a forward pass.
Pantomime boos from the home crowd then turned to cheers as nifty footwork from Jack Dempsey allowed Gordon to score Warriors’ seventh try and McDowell completed the rout.
‘George has a massive chip on his shoulder, a point to prove’
Glasgow coach Pete Horne told BBC Radio Scotland:”We’re delighted. I think what was pleasing is that we got back to playing rugby. Guys were out there expressing themselves.
“[Head coach] Franco (Smith) spoke about drawing a line in the sand after last week, and I think people will be leaving the stands pleased with what they saw.
[On brother George Horne]: “It’s been a tough couple of years for George. Every time he seems to get any momentum he gets injured. He’s got a massive chip on his shoulder, a point to prove. He’s desperate to show what he’s got and I think he was at his best tonight.”
Cardiff director of rugby Dai Young told Premier Sports: “We got off the a good start, but the yellow card changed the momentum.
“Second half, we lost too many collisions and they got quick ball. We wanted to control the ball and limit Glasgow, but in fairness to them they were really clinical and we were always chasing the game.
“We were beaten by the better team. The scoreboard is ugly, but we had some good spells. We’ve got to play for 80 minutes. I think we can build on some things from tonight.”
Glasgow Warriors: Cole Forbes; Sebastian Cancelliere, Sione Tuipulotu, Stafford McDowall, Kyle Steyn (capt); Tom Jordan, George Horne; Jamie Bhatti, Fraser Brown, Zander Fagerson, Scott Cummings, Richie Gray, Matt Fagerson, Rory Darge, Jack Dempsey.
Replacements: George Turner, Oli Kebble, Lucio Sordoni, JP du Preez, Sintu Manjezi, Thomas Gordon, Ali Price, Domingo Miotti.
Cardiff Rugby: Matthew Morgan; Aled Summerhill, Mason Grady, Max Llewellyn, Josh Adams; Jarrod Evans, Tomos Williams; Rhys Carré, Kristian Dacey, Dillon Lewis, Josh Turnbull (capt), Seb Davies, James Botham, Thomas Young, James Ratti.
Replacements: Liam Belcher, Brad Thyer, Keiron Assiratti, Matthew Screech, Lopeti Timani, Lloyd Williams, Rhys Priestland, Uilisi Halaholo.
Referee: Chris Busby (IRFU)
Assistant referees: Finlay Brown & Ru Campbell (SRU)
TMO: Olly Hodges (IRFU)
