Blues v Glasgow Warriors Sunday 21st October

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Blues v Glasgow Warriors
Sunday 21st October
Cardiff Arms Park
ko 15.15

Live on BT Sport

Well this group has just got interesting.

Sarries winning away probably not so surprising but the way they had to fight for it was and they paid a heavy toll in bodies to achieve their goal. Not even close to a bonus point either.

Glasgow on the other hand, while being please at going toe to toe with the English Champs, did not take their chances and for reasons best known to themselves, decided to forsake the chance of at least taking a point from the game by kicking some pretty straightforward penalties.

Blues surprised everyone by winning getting a very good away win in France and suggesting that hey have no intentions of being the group whipping boys. Lyon may not be giving the competition their full attention, but French teams are still usually vey hard to beat at home, so fair play to the Blues for achieving that.

So here we are second game in and Glasgow are pretty much facing sudden death already. Teams don't generally come back from losing the first two group games, especially when you still have away trips to France and Sarries to come. Probably fair to say that this is a must win game for Glasgow if they see themselves progressing in the comp. If Blues can go two from two straight off the bat, then surely they will fancy their chances going forward as well!

Both teams will be used to playing on the plastic pitches so no advantages there.

Both teams have traditionally liked playing fast and loose, but Glasgow look like they are trying to bring a bit of steel and pressure into their game as well, with only somewhat mixed results so far.

Recent form would suggest a Glasgow win, they have definitely had the edge in this fixture recently, but Blues have been strong in cup competitions recently and have a knack of getting up for big games. They also have the memory of bringing down Glasgow home and away last time we met in Europe, probably against expectations as well.

It is a hard game to call!

These strips are going to be difficult to tell apart...

Great start Glasgow!

Incredible start Glasgow!

Even better start!

Good refereeing - nothing in that Sam Johnson tackle

What's happened to the Glasgow scrum? It was excellent last week against a huge Saracens pack.

Too many Glasgow forwards standing out on the backs - need to hit some rucks

Hastings is looking all at sea in defence

Cardiff are so much better this season. We're a bit fortunate to have kept them out there.

Our scrum is getting melted.

Eejit wrote:Cardiff are so much better this season. We're a bit fortunate to have kept them out there.

Glasgow have been ferocious in defence to be fair. The Blues have butchered a few chances though.

Great first half from Glasgow - took the chances they had and weathered the inevitable Blues comeback.

What a great start. Knocked the stuffing out of them

We have been quite controlled since then and Blues playing like we usually do in Europe. Side to side at pace but making little ground

One more score could kill this game off!

Lovely try Glasgow - DTH has so much class

Next homegame I'm going around with a bucket to collect money for a DTH statue at Scotstoun. What a guy.

Aaaah that was so lax by Hastings and Seymour!

Some of the Glasgow backs have poor tackling technique, particularly Hastings - why go high on Manoa??

That was glorious from jones - why the offload!

What a try that will be if it stands!!!

That's a spectacular try

What a bloody try that was!!!

I can forgive Hastings' defensive flakiness when he does things like that!

Got to say the Blues really have been poor

Mad Mata has stolen Jimbo's haircut.

Great win for Glasgow. Great weekend for Scottish rugby!

I have had worse days out in Cardiff!

Well I didn't see that performance coming from the Blues. Well done Glasgow on that form Lyon shouldn't be an issue for you.

Always had a lot of time for Cardiff (unlike our opponents next week). There is a great squad there and it’s only a matter of time before they become a really good team. Think your performance today was just teething problems - as was said here before clearly it takes a while for teams to get used to the champions cup.

From a Glasgow perspective there is a lot of talking points from the first two weeks of Europe. A big forwards performance last week vs Sarries and a big backs performance this week. Hopefully the coaching team can combine them and our second team can deal with the aforementioned red menace in the league next weekend.

Eejit wrote:Always had a lot of time for Cardiff (unlike our opponents next week). There is a great squad there and it’s only a matter of time before they become a really good team. Think your performance today was just teething problems - as was said here before clearly it takes a while for teams to get used to the champions cup.

From a Glasgow perspective there is a lot of talking points from the first two weeks of Europe. A big forwards performance last week vs Sarries and a big backs performance this week. Hopefully the coaching team can combine them and our second team can deal with the aforementioned red menace in the league next weekend.

This is gonna sound like a really sh*tty comment, but it’s not meant to honestly: could it be said that Glasgow, for all of their strength in the Pro14, have never really ‘got used’ to the Euro top league either? Such a hard comp, and Glasgow perhaps one of the best examples of how difficult the step up is from the heady heights of Pro14 dominance (or finishing around the top quite often) to competing well in the Heineken Cup/Champs Cup. I think Leinster and Munster are pretty much the only ones from our league who’ve managed to do well on a regular basis and not one offs (like Scarlets last year). As I said, a tough tough comp.

Yes I think it’s a fair point you make and something that has been discussed in depth on the Edinburgh/Glasgow topics in the past. Rennie came to Glasgow with a big rep and some big talk and then we fell flat on our face last season. A bedding in season is to be expected but the real work starts now. This year it’s kill or be killed for us and the minimum expectations for him is the final of the Pro14 and a European quarter final. Either Glasgow become more than flat track bullies they’ve been or he should Be replaced by someone who can get us there.

The question have Glasgow got used to the competition will be answered in the next two rounds when we should be beating Lyon Home and away.

Got home a little while ago and just watched the match on TV. I have to say The Blues played like Glasgow have many times in the past when in Europe, all high tempo endeavour but mainly going from side to side, there was no great game management there and Glasgow defence had them covered pretty much all day long. Us Glasgow fans know well the disappointment of a performance like that, especially after such a good one last weekend.

It was a good game for us, took our chances clinically, were very well organised in defence and showed a bit of pragmatism as well when the need arose. It will all count for nothing though if we don't back it up in France!

The jersey situation is getting some bad press as despite what the commentators said, the teams were not happy with the clash of colours. It had been approved by Euro Rugby and Glasgow did not bring a change strip with them apparently. I am not sure if it would have been possible for Blues to change or not. Still I don't think that gave advantage to one side or the other, just made it hard to ref!

I have to say, the crowd were on the refs back the whole game and did not seem to be happy about anything he did. Having watched it live and on TV, I don't think he had a bad game at all. Blues lost that game through their performance, not because of the ref.

The onus is on the home team to change their strip if there's a clash. Anscome had a go at Glasgow saying they should have changed into their white strip - they don't have a white strip!

Eejit wrote:Yes I think it’s a fair point you make and something that has been discussed in depth on the Edinburgh/Glasgow topics in the past. Rennie came to Glasgow with a big rep and some big talk and then we fell flat on our face last season. A bedding in season is to be expected but the real work starts now. This year it’s kill or be killed for us and the minimum expectations for him is the final of the Pro14 and a European quarter final. Either Glasgow become more than flat track bullies they’ve been or he should Be replaced by someone who can get us there.

The question have Glasgow got used to the competition will be answered in the next two rounds when we should be beating Lyon Home and away.

I think we should maintain some sense of reality here.

Lyon, despite losing two games are technically not out of it yet and won't like losing at home regardless of whether they feel they can go through or not. Winning away at any French club is not easy, they are different beasts at home. Toulouse, who have not been setting the Top 14 on fire, just beat Leinster, who we all thought were all but unbeatable. I imagine that Lyon took Blues a little to easily and I doubt if they will make the same mistake again.

Glasgow could go down there, play very well and still lose.

Results are not going to form or plan in this years competition, there have been more than a few surprises already and a lot of teams are still in with a shout. Glasgow could possibly still qualify even if they lost at Lyon, that missed BP against Sarries though may come back to haunt us.

I am not setting DR quite such a demanding success criteria as you are. It will be a very tall order to make Pro 14 finals and qualify for Europe quarters. I want to see us producing better performances throughout the season and particularly in the games that matter and that is how I will judge the DR regime.

What we have seen so far is promising and I think he has already done more than enough to get a contract extension if he wants one. There is no doubt he could walk away from Glasgow at the end of the season to a bigger, better resourced club, or probably into an international job after the WC if he wants. We are kidding ourselves if we think that coaches of his calibre will be queuing up to come to Glasgow if he was to go.

RDW_Scotland wrote:The onus is on the home team to change their strip if there's a clash. Anscome had a go at Glasgow saying they should have changed into their white strip - they don't have a white strip!

I read about what Anscombe said and was confused as to why they seemed to think Glasgow should change their kit.

I can’t believe it was allowed to happen.

I know the done thing is for the home team to change, but what is the reason for this? Is it to save the travelling team having to pack two kits? Makes a mockery of the term 'away' kit! Or is it just called 'change' kit now?

I think it is just called alternate kit now. Other than internationals I don't think there is a big deal about home or away.

This is a Euro Cup mess up, the sides were just doing what they were told. I am not sure Blues making a big fuss about it afterwards though was a great idea, as it kind of sounded a bit like excuses for a poor performance. It was not an ideal situation but it was not worse for one side or the other.

They at least had an option to do something about it, by going to get their other strip, which Glasgow could not.

In my messed up imagination, the Blues kit is washed and ironed by Gethin Jenkins' mum in her small terrace house up the valleys. Been doing it since Gethin started playing rugby. Perhaps she was behind schedule!

The Oracle wrote:In my messed up imagination, the Blues kit is washed and ironed by Gethin Jenkins' mum in her small terrace house up the valleys.  Been doing it since Gethin started playing rugby.  Perhaps she was behind schedule!

Could've sewn something on the jerseys to help differentiate, I guess. Done it before.
Apparently, Nuggets brain crashed during commentary with all that bloo on show.

Don't think anyone comes out of this well, Glasgow should have known to bring their second kit, Cardiff should have changed as they would/should have had easier access to a change of kit and officials shouldn't have allowed anyone to take the field until someone changed

For years at international level it has been the home team that has to change their kit - this isn't a new thing.

My main gripe with Anscome is he's moaning that Glasgow didn't wear their white strip - they don't have a white strip!

I wonder which team out of the two has a white alternative strip...

RDW_Scotland wrote:For years at international level it has been the home team that has to change their kit - this isn't a new thing.

My main gripe with Anscome is he's moaning that Glasgow didn't wear their white strip - they don't have a white strip!

I wonder which team out of the two has a white alternative strip...

Can't beat the officials telling Cardiff that the onus was on them to change and they didn't now they complain?

Also, it affected both teams - how would Glasgow have had any advantage from deliberately doing it?

So it is EPCR who decides and tells each team what to wear

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/45935494

Fun bit of trivia - until someone corrects me! I seem to remember hearing that Wales national rugby team used to play in green many years back. However, one day either their kit was lost or clashed or something happened and they ended up borrowing Llanelli RFC's red kit for an international match and they then stuck to red after that!

Sounds very much like the Father Christmas story, with him wearing green in the early days until Coca Cola put him in red for their advertising and then that stuck (if the story is to be believed)!

RDW_Scotland wrote:So it is EPCR who decides and tells each team what to wear

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/45935494

You have to wonder what both teams sent through

RDW_Scotland wrote:Also, it affected both teams - how would Glasgow have had any advantage from deliberately doing it?

Has anyone said that the other team had an advantage? Have to admit I haven't read anything about it, only the link you just provided on your other post. Sounds like Anscombe and the coach having a moan about it generally. I'm sure some of the Glasgow players thought it was a bit ridiculous too!

RDW_Scotland wrote:For years at international level it has been the home team that has to change their kit - this isn't a new thing.

Not just at international level. While the introduction of leagues throughout the amateur game has changed things, it was always the tradition that the home team would wear a change strip if there was a clash. Theory being, I guess, that they should have another kit to choose from. 

Certainly that was still the tradition when I stopped playing.

In football it's the opposite isn't it? Away team wears their change strip if there might be a clash. But I guess colours are a bit more fixed and traditional there and you can therefore guess what the home team will be wearing and pack a change kit if needed. In rugby they seem to change quite a bit - Dragons home kits have been all sorts of colours in their short history.

The Oracle wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:Also, it affected both teams - how would Glasgow have had any advantage from deliberately doing it?

Has anyone said that the other team had an advantage?  Have to admit I haven't read anything about it, only the link you just provided on your other post.  Sounds like Anscombe and the coach having a moan about it generally.  I'm sure some of the Glasgow players thought it was a bit ridiculous too!

A fair point. Anscome was certainly of the impression that Glasgow should have been the ones to resolve the issue (again despite not having a white strip)

"They told us it was down to the home team to change jerseys, but I don't think that's fair. Glasgow should have been wearing a white jersey."