Rabo Round 17 - Glasgow Warriors v Cardiff Blues, 1 March

First topic message reminder :

At Scotstoun Stadium , 7.35pm.
Referee: George Clancy (IRFU, 52nd competition game)
Assistant Referees: Andy Macpherson, Graeme Marshall, (both SRU)
Citing Commissioner: Douglas Hunter (SRU)
Not televised

Teams (listed here when announced):

Warriors

15 Peter Murchie
14 Byron McGuigan
13 Alex Dunbar
12 Peter Horne
11 DTH van der Merwe

10 Duncan Weir
9 Nikola Matawalu

1 Gordon Reid
2 Pat MacArthur
3 Jon Welsh
4 Tim Swinson
5 Alastair Kellock (Captain)
6 Josh Strauss
7 John Barclay
8 Ryan Wilson

Substitutes:

16 Fraser Brown
17 Ofa Fainga'anuku
18 Moray Low
19 Tom Ryder
20 James Eddie
21 Henry Pyrgos
22 Scott Wight
23 Graeme Morrison

Not available for selection due to injury:
Michael Cusack (shoulder), Chris Cusiter (shoulder), Chris Fusaro (groin), Finlay Gillies (neck), Rory Lamont (he's Rory Lamont) and Tommy Seymour (ribs).

Blues

15 Chris Czekaj
14 Owen Williams
13 Richard Smith
12 Gavin Evans (c)
11 Harry Robinson

10 Rhys Patchell
9 Alex Walker

8 Luke Hamilton
7 Josh Navidi
6 Rory Watts-Jones
5 James Down
4 Lou Reed
3 Benoit Bourrust
2 Kristian Dacey
1 Tafufa'ao Filise

Substitutes:

16 Marc Breeze
17 Sam Hobbs
18 Tamba Petru
19 Maauley Cook
20 Thomas Young
21 Lloyd Williams
22 Gareth Davies
23 Cory Allen

2nd versus 7th in the table and it should be a good one - Blues' away record is impressive.

Form:

Glasgow:

Warriors 20 Ulster 14
Dragons 3 Warriors 60
Zebre 20 Warriors 36
Warriors 27 Northampton Saints 20

Blues:

Blues 22 Connacht 26
Edinburgh 16 Blues 17
Blues 11 Leinster 26
Blues 10 London Irish 6

Waffle:

Glasgow Warriors have now recorded four successive maximum point victories in the RaboDirect PRO12 - equalling the tournament record set by Dragons in 2003/04.

Warriors are the current form team in the PRO12 having won their last six contests and securing 28 league points in the process. The Scotsmen have lost just once to a Welsh region in their last eight such encounters.

Cardiff Blues have won five of their last seven away games in the RaboDirect PRO12, whilst their only defeat in their last six visits to Scotland in the tournament was 3-31 to Glasgow at Firhill in this equivalent fixture last March.

This is the 4th different venue in the last four Warriors-Blues contests with Glasgow winning the last three.

2nd try for everyone's favourite Fijian. Bonus point try!!!!

And the Blues concede 2 tries in 4 minutes...typical

Guess that was inevitable. Why are Blues so poor with those players??? Forget PD's 25x25 plan, get the guy out.

Glasgow are level with Ulster now!!!

Can't believe Alba choose to show Edinburgh and not this game. What's the score now please?

Due to Treviso's draw with Uslter (could have been a win if they'd converted their final try) Glasgow are top of the table!!!!

mckay1402 wrote:Can't believe Alba choose to show Edinburgh and not this game. What's the score now please?

Glasgow 29-13 up, have a listen http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/scotland/18287084

Score stays the same, 5th consecutive bonus point victory, new league record!

That is awesome. And to think wee complained when toonie was brought in...who would have thought?

Yessssssss top of the league yesssssssssssss

Amazing Congrats to the Weege

gcBlues wrote:

George Carlin wrote:Looking forward to seeing what he's got.

Probably an arse full of splinters by the end of the game

Nearly, but no cigar.
According to ESPN stats, Cory Allen entered the fray sometime after the 74th minute when Cardiff Blues were already 16 points behind.

http://www.espnscrum.com/rabodirect-pro12-2012-13/rugby/match/167082.html

Morgannwg wrote:Guess that was inevitable. Why are Blues so poor with those players??? Forget PD's 25x25 plan, get the guy out.

You're joking surely?

The 25x25 nonsense is simply a nonsense and for that reason alone PD can naff off as quick as you like.

I think the scoreline flatters us a little bit - yes, we were better, but for the first 50-odd minutes we looked like we were in serious danger of being turned over. We still have a worrying tendency to lose concentration during long periods of play, but I'm pleased that we can turn on the class to win these games.

Good: Strauss, Kellock, wide attack, scrum, Horne, G4S for not confiscating my SLR, and the boy Nico.

Bad: Kicking for territory, tackling, handling (first half), general lack of composure in the redzone (particularly in the first half), Clancy, G4S for failing to search my bag.

One word on Rhys Patchell - impressive. I'll admit, I was sceptical about some of the praise being lavished on him, but he was at the centre of everything good that Cardiff did tonight. He did seem to fade in and out of the game, but when he was involved he was excellent.

Cardiff,

was very impressed with your FH esp the first 40 - ran the show and would have been MoM at probably 60 mins - then Mata and Bluto took over. You are close to being a good side - defo no mugs.

And, Ian, yes Clancy is a complete and utter t&&& He really does hate everything Scottish - always has, always will !

Cardiff Dave wrote:

Morgannwg wrote:Guess that was inevitable. Why are Blues so poor with those players??? Forget PD's 25x25 plan, get the guy out.

You're joking surely?

The 25x25 nonsense is simply a nonsense and for that reason alone PD can naff off as quick as you like.

Even at full strength they're still pish poor.

Would love to see Glasgow win it this year btw.

21st Century Schizoid Man wrote:Cardiff,

was very impressed with your FH esp the first 40 - ran the show and would have been MoM at probably 60 mins - then Mata and Bluto took over. You are close to being a good side - defo no mugs.

Rhys Patchell is our FH and he's still only 19 years old according to his Cardiff Blues blog. A great future ahead of him.

21st Century Schizoid Man wrote:And, Ian, yes Clancy is a complete and utter t&&& He really does hate everything Scottish - always has, always will !

His reffing of the scrum was utterly baffling. At one point I made an observation to my mate about what Clancy does when a scrum goes down: when it's our ball, he gives a free kick to Cardiff. When it's Cardiff's ball, he awards a penalty to Cardiff.

The very next scrum (perhaps a minute later): Glasgow ball, huge drive forwards, Wilson controlling well at the back, and Clancy hands possession to Cardiff for wheeling. I was right in front of it, and the scrum didn't rotate at all. Not a single bit. So, now it's Cardiff's ball, scrum goes down on Cardiff's tight-head side, and... penalty to Cardiff.

The man is a total and utter clown. How he is trusted to ref international games is beyond me. I'm slightly concerned that he might have Steve Walsh's kids in a cellar somewhere.

Morgannwg wrote:

Cardiff Dave wrote:

Morgannwg wrote:Guess that was inevitable. Why are Blues so poor with those players??? Forget PD's 25x25 plan, get the guy out.

You're joking surely?

The 25x25 nonsense is simply a nonsense and for that reason alone PD can naff off as quick as you like.

Even at full strength they're still pish poor.

Agreed, but this season is all about rebuilding after you know what and as far as i'm concerned the team are doing better than I thought they would.
Next season will be different I think. I hope.

Yep, the Blues are in a big rebuilding phase at the moment - but their are good signs.

It will probably be a couple of seasons before we challenge for the playoffs.

Another good game by Patchell apparently, if we can just get O.Williams and Cory Allen playing then we this have a good bunch of young talent between 4 and 16 - we just need a front row, and probably some better coaches

wales606 wrote:Yep, the Blues are in a big rebuilding phase at the moment - but their are good signs.

Let's also hope we can create a vibrant and independent Cardiff Blues supporters forum too because at present there isn't one.

Congrats Glasgow. They're a team on form and look nailed on to be in the top 4 now.

Just picked this up now cos the game was on too late for me here.

Very proud of the boys. We did everything that we had to do just before this difficult run of top order matches coming up. We have both form and momentum, both of which are priceless coming into March. Strauss taking a man of the match award is long overdue. Niko's 4 tries in 5 games have shown how important he has become. Now a three week break until Leinster at the RDS - just what Dr Cross ordered.

Blues fans seem very down but there seems to be a lot of young talent in there fighting to get out. Blues are still one of the strongest brands in the league so surely signing another Rush or two in the off season will make all the difference?

Still a very difficult sequence of games to come for Glasgow in the run-in: Leinster (A), Munster (H), Scarlets (A), Ospreys(H), & Connacht (A). All post 6Ns when all sides shoud be back to full-strength, so let's hope they're able to carry some of this momentum forward to those. The run of TBPs is like having won an extra match in terms of league points, which could well be important come the final tally. Think the Warriors will need to get two home wins and one away win, plus at least an LBP or two from the others to secure home advantage for the playoffs. Those two missed TBPs against Edinburgh could still come back to haunt them

From the papers this morning:

There are many unsolved mysteries in the universe but few as unfathomable as trying to work out exactly how the Irish referee George Clancy worked his way to the top of his profession. Glasgow drove a scrum ten metres and the Irishman gave Cardiff the put in at the reset. Glasgow drove them backwards again and Clancy awarded Cardiff a straight arm penalty.

Made I larf, a lot Good old Clownshoes

Aye, Clancy should never, ever be let near a rugby field - he did his level best to ruin a good contest last night with some bewildering decisions esp at scrum time.

BTW hope Swinson and Reid are ok - we need them for the run in - Shrek's injury was comical but painful when Peter Horne kicked it full force into his large coupon and laid him out. Swinson put in a huge hit on the Cradiff centre and I think caught his leg. He looked very groggy as he walked off.

ASBO, enjoy the s game - it is on Sky 1 at 1500 so I will get my headress looked oot !

Great win Glasgow - if you get a home semi final I might even come to support, repay the support you all gave for the Toulouse game!

AsLongAsBut100ofUs wrote:Still a very difficult sequence of games to come for Glasgow in the run-in: Leinster (A), Munster (H), Scarlets (A), Ospreys(H), & Connacht (A). All post 6Ns when all sides shoud be back to full-strength, so let's hope they're able to carry some of this momentum forward to those. The run of TBPs is like having won an extra match in terms of league points, which could well be important come the final tally. Think the Warriors will need to get two home wins and one away win, plus at least an LBP or two from the others to secure home advantage for the playoffs. Those two missed TBPs against Edinburgh could still come back to haunt them

Completely agree - absolutely nobody is saying we're out of the woods yet.

Anything taken from a match at the RDS is a great result. I suspect that we will get wins against Munster at home and away at the Sportsground (although neither is a 'gimme'). LBPs against the rest should be enough to do it - hopefully we can beat the Spreys at home - we should have the game to do it when we get Maitland, Hogg, Harley, Grant and Al back. The Mighty Coo should also hopefully be back by then.

Anyone know what Cusiter's status is - think someone said he expected to be back soon ?

He might not get back in the team! Will be interesting to see what happens when the Scotland guys come back...

RD, I seriously doubt if he (Cusiter) will. With Mata playing so well in his own individual style and Pyrgos playing well too - he won us the game last night by exerting more control at scrums and rucks - I think Cus 2will struggle to get a game. Maitland will get back in but even Hoggy may struggle as Murchie is playing well too. As for Ryan Wilson - what a game he had last night.

Lamont will struggle too

Yes he (Lamont) will. Wings are well covered, although still not completely convinced by McGuigan and Tommy Seymour seems to play one, miss one (injured). Centres look well covered by Dunbar, Horne and Morrison. Horne's try last night was almost as good as his Heino effort v Northampton btw.

Someone needs to teach Niko how to pass. Wee dunks had a torrid time last night picking passes out of the sky at every breakdown. He needed stepladders to catch few
Niko would get the game moving much more quickly if he could regularly stick the ball in front of the first receiver . It made such a difference when Pyrgos came on.

Truely awesome when running with the ball in hand and a tragedy that he has no Scottish blood in him.

Thought that Glasgow really lacked accuracy in most phases of play until the second half ,however the ref was on drugs judging by his decisions around the scrum.

The blues 10 had a great game though.

Seemed to be lots of aimless kicking too and very lucky that Glasgow scored a try from one.

I was lucky enough to have a chat with Gregor Townsend last week about his coaching philosophy. Suffice to say there will be some slapped bottoms for the aimless kicks.

Highlights: http://player.stv.tv/programmes/stv-rugby/2013-03-03-2315/

Young Luke Hamilton looks a useful find for the Blues going on the first half at least

AsLongAsBut100ofUs wrote:Highlights: http://player.stv.tv/programmes/stv-rugby/2013-03-03-2315/

Young Luke Hamilton looks a useful find for the Blues going on the first half at least

I can't wait for Patchell to have some talent at 12 and 13 - really hope we see it on the Wales tour to Japan with Scott Williams and Ashley Beck

I get the feeling Patchell will be at the JWC, and thank god for that because Sam Davies can't tackle. The tour to Japan will likely see Priest, Biggar and Hook vying for the jersey.

Yeah, Patchell should stick with the U20's because he's missed their 6N due to blues commitments. Getting him to the JWC and playing against the southern hemisphere teams and guys his age will do more for him than playing in a makeshift welsh team in Japan.

gcBlues wrote:Yeah, Patchell should stick with the U20's because he's missed their 6N due to blues commitments. Getting him to the JWC and playing against the southern hemisphere teams and guys his age will do more for him than playing in a makeshift welsh team in Japan.

He should be playing the next 2 U20s games

AsLongAsBut100ofUs wrote:Still a very difficult sequence of games to come for Glasgow in the run-in: Leinster (A), Munster (H), Scarlets (A), Ospreys(H), & Connacht (A). All post 6Ns when all sides shoud be back to full-strength, so let's hope they're able to carry some of this momentum forward to those. The run of TBPs is like having won an extra match in terms of league points, which could well be important come the final tally. Think the Warriors will need to get two home wins and one away win, plus at least an LBP or two from the others to secure home advantage for the playoffs. Those two missed TBPs against Edinburgh could still come back to haunt them

Don't worry. Edinburgh play Ulster next at Murrayfield, and I can't see Ulster getting anything from that game.

You and your crazy sense of humour!