ERCC: Pool 4, Round 5 - Glasgow Warriors v Montpellier Herault

by **George Carlin** Mon Jan 12, 2015 7:55 pm

First topic message reminder :

Glasgow Warriors v Montpellier Herault
Pool 4, Round 5
Sunday 18 January 2015, KO 13:00
Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow

Live on Sky Sports / BeIN

Referee Luke Pearce (England)
Touch Judge 1 Matthew Carley (England)
Touch Judge 2 Robin Goodliffe (England)
Fourth Official Tom McNichol (Scotland)
TMO Sean Davey (England)

Citing Commissioner Eddie Walsh (Ireland)

A. Teams:

1. Glasgow Warriors
ERCC: Pool 4, Round 5 - Glasgow Warriors v Montpellier Herault - Page 3 Abi_ba10

ERCC: Pool 4, Round 5 - Glasgow Warriors v Montpellier Herault - Page 3 Abi_ba10

15 Pete Murchie
14 Tommy Seymour
13 Alex Dunbar
12 Peter Horne
11 DTH van der Merwe
10 Finn Russell
9 Niko Matawalu

1 Ryan Grant
2 Pat MacArthur
3 Jon Welsh
4 Tim Swinson
5 Jonny Gray
6 Leone Nakarawa
7 Ryan Wilson
8 Josh Strauss (capt)

16 Fraser Brown
17 Jerry Yanuyanutawa
18 Michael Cusack
19 James Eddie
20 Richie Vernon
21 Henry Pyrgos
22 Mark Bennett
23 Sean Maitland

2. Montpellier Herault
ERCC: Pool 4, Round 5 - Glasgow Warriors v Montpellier Herault - Page 3 Bereni11

ERCC: Pool 4, Round 5 - Glasgow Warriors v Montpellier Herault - Page 3 Bereni11

15 Benoit Sicart
14 Yohann Artru
13 Robert Ebersohn
12 Wynand Olivier
11 Lucas Dupont
10 Benjamin Lucas
9 Teddy Iribaren

1 Yvan Watremez
2 Mickael Ivaldi
3 Pat Cilliers
4 Robins Tchale Watchou
5 Thibaut Privat (capt)
6 Antoine Battut
7 Akapusi Qera
8 Ben Mowen

16 Thomas Bianchin
17 Na'ama Leleimalefaga
18 David Attoub
19 Alexandre Bias
20 Kelian Galletier
21 Benoit Paillaugue
22 Enzo Selponi
23 Viriviri Nasagavesi

B. Tournament Form:

1. Glasgow Warriors

13/12/14 - Glasgow 9 - 12 Toulouse

7/12/14 - Toulouse 19 - 11 Glasgow

25/10/14 - Montpellier 13 - 15 Glasgow

2. Montpellier Herault

12/12/14 - Bath 32 - 12 Montpellier

5/12/14 - Montpellier 5 - 30 Bath

25/10/14 - Montpellier 13 - 15 Glasgow

C. Head to Head

3 Played 3
2 Wins 0
0 Losses 2
1 Draws 1
2 Tries 4
1 Conversions 3
12 Penalties 5
0 Drop Goals 0
48 Points 41

by **BigGee** Mon Jan 19, 2015 1:41 am

Big Mike comes on and wins a penalty straight away!

by A Simply Mesmeric Try Mon Jan 19, 2015 1:42 am

It's now or never...

by teh_Dingmeister Mon Jan 19, 2015 1:42 am

Something's wrong with Maitland, shocking drop there on the loop

by TJ Mon Jan 19, 2015 1:43 am

I disagree. absolutely the right thing to go for the bonus point from the beginning. they have the game won easily now. Montpellier defended well on the line, glasgow dropped the ball to much

by A Simply Mesmeric Try Mon Jan 19, 2015 1:45 am

A Simply Mesmeric Try wrote:It's now or never...

Never

by GLove39 Mon Jan 19, 2015 1:45 am

man sausage

by **RDW** Mon Jan 19, 2015 1:46 am

Well it was a good effort from Glasgow, but I think their first half performance have themselves too much to do.

If only Weir's conversion went over...

by TJ Mon Jan 19, 2015 1:46 am

Glasgow have blown that. created the opportunities to get the bonus point. Its been Glasgows failing for the last two seasons - noty getting bonus points. should have had a losing bonus point or two against Toulose. Could even have won one of those games.

I think a coaching Error - should have started with Pyrgos today

by **BigGee** Mon Jan 19, 2015 1:47 am

I think if Henry had started and brought a bit of control at the start then we would have won a lot easier and got the 4 tries. It just needed a bit more control and that is not what Niko brings

Still we are still in it, 18 points may be enough and we could get our bonus point down there. A lot will depend on how Bath get on now

by **George Carlin** Mon Jan 19, 2015 1:48 am

Those little margins. Small mistakes. Differences between vg teams and great teams.

We have to hope that Toulouse dish up an absolute fisting to our friends from Somerset now.

by VinceWLB Mon Jan 19, 2015 1:48 am

Hate to single out anyone but Nakarawa was the reason Glasgow didn't get the bonus point.

DTH showing why he is still by far the best back at the club, yet he didn't start against Toulouse.

by IanBru Mon Jan 19, 2015 1:48 am

Ah crap.

Still, absolutely the right decisions to go for the try throughout the first half. Unless we're saying that, by virtue of Glasgow being ahead on points (through kicks), Montpellier would have opened up a bit and been more vulnerable, then the failure is tactical (by not scoring when they could have) rather than strategic (by going for tries).

by VinceWLB Mon Jan 19, 2015 1:57 am

Forgot to say, what an impact Eddie and Cusack had, they MUST start next week.

by **BigGee** Mon Jan 19, 2015 2:14 am

Well looks like Strauss will be out, Swinson was limping as well, so Eddie will be in the mix somewhere. I imagine Wilson, who played well today, will go back to No.8 and then it will depend who else is fit.

Cussack only played 5 mins and there is no way he will be fit enough to start. Welsh did well today as well, the scrums were very even and there were actually very few re-sets. Big Mike will stay on the bench but will hopefully get more than 5 mins in the next game.

by madmaccas Mon Jan 19, 2015 2:16 am

Has Sean Maitland really only scored 1 try this season? Got to start with DTH for Glasgow and Visser for Scotland the way he's dried up. I said it at the time, but the Lions experience and Gatland's style seemed to suck the confidence out of him.

by **RDW** Mon Jan 19, 2015 2:19 am

madmaccas wrote:but the Lions experience and Gatland's style seemed to suck the confidence out of him.

Hrs not the only one!

by **BigGee** Mon Jan 19, 2015 2:20 am

I think we will see a back three of Seymour, Maitland and DTH next week.

Substitute Visser for DTH and that may well be the Scotland back three if Hoggy not fit, which looks likely. If not Maitland at FB then the next best bet would be Tonks

by TJ Mon Jan 19, 2015 2:22 am

The other thing we need to do is acknowledge that Montpelier despite being out of the competition and being away from home did not roll over and they should be congratulated for that. Many of us thought that french teams in their position would give up and roll over. Montpelier did not.

by VinceWLB Mon Jan 19, 2015 2:24 am

madmaccas wrote:Has Sean Maitland really only scored 1 try this season? Got to start with DTH for Glasgow and Visser for Scotland the way he's dried up. I said it at the time, but the Lions experience and Gatland's style seemed to suck the confidence out of him.

Yet i think i would have started with Maitland at fullback, he really add some pace to the team even if he doesn't beat defenders for fun the way DTH and Seymour do. Murchie is to slow for a game like today.

by **BigGee** Mon Jan 19, 2015 2:25 am

TJ wrote:The other thing we need to do is acknowledge that Montpelier despite being out of the competition and being away from home did not roll over and they should be congratulated for that. Many of us thought that french teams in their position would give up and roll over. Montpelier did not.

That is true. I think that if Galthie was still the coach and Jake White had not appeared and told them they were all playing for their contracts, it would have been a very different game and result.

by VinceWLB Mon Jan 19, 2015 2:26 am

TJ wrote:The other thing we need to do is acknowledge that Montpelier despite being out of the competition and being away from home did not roll over and they should be congratulated for that. Many of us thought that french teams in their position would give up and roll over. Montpelier did not.

Yes all credit to them. However a team like Leinster would still have put them to the sword and got a bp win. Show the difference between great teams and good teams.

by **BigGee** Mon Jan 19, 2015 2:27 am

VinceWLB wrote:
madmaccas wrote:Has Sean Maitland really only scored 1 try this season? Got to start with DTH for Glasgow and Visser for Scotland the way he's dried up. I said it at the time, but the Lions experience and Gatland's style seemed to suck the confidence out of him.

Yet i think i would have started with Maitland at fullback, he really add some pace to the team even if he doesn't beat defenders for fun the way DTH and Seymour do. Murchie is to slow for a game like today.

This match just came a week to soon for Henry, Bennett and Maitland, who would probably all have started if fully fit. Hopefully they will be in next week.

by TJ Mon Jan 19, 2015 2:30 am

VinceWLB wrote:
TJ wrote:The other thing we need to do is acknowledge that Montpelier despite being out of the competition and being away from home did not roll over and they should be congratulated for that. Many of us thought that french teams in their position would give up and roll over. Montpelier did not.

Yes all credit to them. However a team like Leinster would still have put them to the sword and got a bp win. Show the difference between great teams and good teams.

Not a chance - have you seen Leinster play this season? Not the team they were.

by **George Carlin** Mon Jan 19, 2015 2:32 am

TJ wrote:
VinceWLB wrote:
TJ wrote:The other thing we need to do is acknowledge that Montpelier despite being out of the competition and being away from home did not roll over and they should be congratulated for that. Many of us thought that french teams in their position would give up and roll over. Montpelier did not.

Yes all credit to them. However a team like Leinster would still have put them to the sword and got a bp win. Show the difference between great teams and good teams.

Not a chance - have you seen Leinster play this season? Not the team they were.

Yes, I have to say that I'm not scared of any of the Irish teams at the moment (Connacht, maybe).
The Spreys are the ladyboys to beat at the moment.

by **George Carlin** Mon Jan 19, 2015 2:35 am

7-10 to Barf.
At least we have Clownshoes playing for us.

by VinceWLB Mon Jan 19, 2015 2:36 am

TJ wrote:
VinceWLB wrote:
Yes all credit to them. However a team like Leinster would still have put them to the sword and got a bp win. Show the difference between great teams and good teams.

Not a chance - have you seen Leinster play this season? Not the team they were.

Yes i have and the Castres team they put to the sword yesterday wasn't that much worse than that Montpellier team.

by justified sinner Mon Jan 19, 2015 2:39 am

TJ wrote:
VinceWLB wrote:
TJ wrote:The other thing we need to do is acknowledge that Montpelier despite being out of the competition and being away from home did not roll over and they should be congratulated for that. Many of us thought that french teams in their position would give up and roll over. Montpelier did not.

Yes all credit to them. However a team like Leinster would still have put them to the sword and got a bp win. Show the difference between great teams and good teams.

Not a chance - have you seen Leinster play this season? Not the team they were.

You did see what Leinster did to Castres last night?

by IanBru Mon Jan 19, 2015 2:41 am

Folks, we're knee-deep in supposition here.

No one can say with certainty how Leinster would have performed today. No one.

by TJ Mon Jan 19, 2015 2:43 am

Leinster are two places below glasgow inthe league having won two less games. Leinster group in the Euro cup is much easier. Caster were out of the cup befoer this round.

by justified sinner Mon Jan 19, 2015 2:44 am

Not meant as a troll TJ.

by **RDW** Mon Jan 19, 2015 2:46 am

Come on TJ - you're arguing with long standing decent posters here, there's no trolling going on.

by **BigGee** Mon Jan 19, 2015 2:50 am

Well Bath have scored three tries already and are 22-7 up after 28 mins. I suppose it does not really matter whether they get a bonus point or not, we will still have to beat them, with or without a BP. 18 points may still do it.

We will definitely be the underdogs for that match though, which may suit us.

by **George Carlin** Mon Jan 19, 2015 2:50 am

There's something else that we're knee-deep in now.

Bath 7-22 up in Toulouse. 3 tries in less than half an hour. Shocked

by TJ Mon Jan 19, 2015 2:52 am

RDW_Scotland wrote:Come on TJ - you're arguing with long standing decent posters here, there's no trolling going on.

Come off it. The first poster was an obvious troll. I shall simply ignore them in future

by maestegmafia Mon Jan 19, 2015 2:53 am

Well done Glasgow... Good win there.

by justified sinner Mon Jan 19, 2015 3:02 am

How the heck are Bath so far ahead? Watching Connacht Exeter and that's a decent game 17-10 Connacht at half time.

by **RDW** Mon Jan 19, 2015 3:18 am

If bath win this Glasgow really do have a fight on their hands next week!

by **BigGee** Mon Jan 19, 2015 3:29 am

RDW_Scotland wrote:If bath win this Glasgow really do have a fight on their hands next week!

We were always going to have to win down there next week and they were never likely to roll over, whatever the result today. Maybe it will take the pressure off them. They will have nothing to lose and won't be expected to win. The mantle of favourites does not seem to have sat well with them this year

by madmaccas Mon Jan 19, 2015 3:36 am

All the journos are talking about 2nd place qualification etc, but to be honest with the way we've been playing this season I can't see us going any further even if we sqweek through.

by **BigGee** Mon Jan 19, 2015 3:42 am

madmaccas wrote:All the journos are talking about 2nd place qualification etc, but to be honest with the way we've been playing this season I can't see us going any further even if we sqweek through.

No point speculating on that till we know. Glasgow have definitely underperformed in a lot of their European games this year, they can play much better, just maybe qualification will galvanise them. All speculation at the moment though.

by madmaccas Mon Jan 19, 2015 3:47 am

BigGee wrote:
madmaccas wrote:All the journos are talking about 2nd place qualification etc, but to be honest with the way we've been playing this season I can't see us going any further even if we sqweek through.

No point speculating on that till we know. Glasgow have definitely underperformed in a lot of their European games this year, they can play much better, just maybe qualification will galvanise them. All speculation at the moment though.

True, I'm just frustrated as this was meant to be the season we kicked on.

by **BigGee** Mon Jan 19, 2015 3:50 am

madmaccas wrote:
BigGee wrote:
madmaccas wrote:All the journos are talking about 2nd place qualification etc, but to be honest with the way we've been playing this season I can't see us going any further even if we sqweek through.

No point speculating on that till we know. Glasgow have definitely underperformed in a lot of their European games this year, they can play much better, just maybe qualification will galvanise them. All speculation at the moment though.

True, I'm just frustrated as this was meant to be the season we kicked on.

Well we are still in contention on the last qualification game, which is progress of sorts. It could have so much better though. It just never gets any easier though!

by **BigGee** Mon Jan 19, 2015 3:59 am

Well its a five pointer for Bath at Toulouse. It will mean nothing if we beat them though. They have really turned their campaign around this year, well done to them, very impressive today

by **RDW** Mon Jan 19, 2015 4:28 am

It does however mean they do just need to win now - without a bp - and they could go through, meaning it is going to be a tight game at the rec.

by HammerofThunor Mon Jan 19, 2015 4:52 am

madmaccas wrote:
BigGee wrote:
madmaccas wrote:All the journos are talking about 2nd place qualification etc, but to be honest with the way we've been playing this season I can't see us going any further even if we sqweek through.

No point speculating on that till we know. Glasgow have definitely underperformed in a lot of their European games this year, they can play much better, just maybe qualification will galvanise them. All speculation at the moment though.

True, I'm just frustrated as this was meant to be the season we kicked on.

You're still fighting for qualification in the last round of Europe, in a year where the groups are harder. You're doing better.

by jimbopip Mon Jan 19, 2015 5:16 am

The weird thing is... if Pellie beat Toulouse we could beat Bath 3-0 and win the group.
However, we could win 50-0, end up runners up and not qualify.

My head hurts.
p.s. I missed the game today as I spent the morning on a very cold, windswept touchline watching young Pipetto. It was worth it just for the moment when he caught a kick off, shaped to kick, stepped the onrushing forwards and ran the ball back at them. The English parents all around me looked slightly confused when I cried out, "Dancer!"

by **BigGee** Mon Jan 19, 2015 5:24 am

Montpellier beating Toulouse at home is not totally beyond the realms of possibility. They clearly have upped their game under the new coach. The regime under Galthie must have been truly rotten! They certainly have the players and were massively underachieving. You would hope they will treat it as another must win home game, as French teams usually do.

I have to say as well, if Toulouse had indulged in a game like that against us, we may well have won as well. The whole momentum of this group has changed massively, any one of three teams could still win it. Bath have possibly done us a favour and kept us in the hunt.

by **RDW** Mon Jan 19, 2015 7:45 pm

Fairly scathing match report from Iain Morrison in the Scotsman - justified too I reckon.

GLASGOW duly got the win that keeps their European hopes hanging by a thread but they failed to land that all-important four-try bonus point and, at one stage, it looked like they might not even record a victory at all.

Scorers: Glasgow – Tries: van der Merwe (3). Cons: Russell (3). Montpellier – Try: Privat. Con: Lucas. Pen: Lucas.

The home team didn’t take the lead for good until the 57th minute when winger DTH van der Merwe scored the second of his hat-trick of tries.

Presumably there was not a greal deal of argument about who was to receive the man of the match award.

Glasgow were trailing at the break after throwing everything at an unexpectedly stuffy Montpellier defence.

The Warriors went into this game without their two frontline flankers and it showed. They conceded 19 turnovers in total, according to the official statistics.

Glasgow were poor in the opening half when the entire team were afflicted by white line fever, poor handling and dodgy decision making.

The problems were never more obvious than the final 15 minutes of the first half when they laid siege to the Montpellier line with a one-man advantage and still came away with nothing to show for all their efforts.

Montpellier undoubtedly showed some spirit, but Glasgow did much of the damage to themselves.

This match could have been all but dead and buried before half-time had the home side kicked their goals and built up a first-half lead from the umpteen penalty opportunities that came their way.

Instead, they continued the less than successful option of kicking to the corner for an attacking lineout, taking the set scrum or the quick tap. On one occasion, Finn Russell overcooked his kick, missed the corner and gave Montpellier an easy exit. It was just one of a plethora of mistakes by the home team.

They Warriors lost three lineout throws within touching distance of the opposition line and, when Montpellier lost prop Patric Cilliers to the sin bin on 33 minutes, they fared no better in the set scrum. Josh Strauss picked and drove close to the line. Jonny Gray picked and drove even closer but, when the ball was moved wide, Jon Welsh’s slapped pass fell into the hand of a waiting Montpellier defender.

The one time Glasgow strung some passes together without any mistakes they scored a cracker of a try.

The home side poached a bobbling ball at a Montpellier throw in the middle of the field and quick hands was all it took to give van der Merwe a run to the line – well, quick hands and a forward pass by Alex Dunbar to the scorer.

If things looked rosy for the home fans after that 13th-minute strike, things turned a shade darker when Peter Murchie was pinged for holding on to the ball in the breakdown.

Montpellier kicked for the corner and their big forward pack rumbled over the Glasgow line without much ado, skipper Thibaut Privat awarded the try.

Trailing by three points at the break thanks to Ben Lucas’s early penalty kick which separated the sides, Glasgow needed the first score but they were now playing into the second half breeze and it wasn’t proving easy.

Strauss failed to move the ball with unmarked men outside, Nakawara’s hands were unusually suspect and Seymour’s “Hail Mary” pass, just one of many on the day, fell into the arms of a grateful white shirt after the winger had done well to get away up the right flank.

On 53 minutes, Gregor Townsend had seen enough. He went to his bench and threw Henry Pyrgos, Fraser Brown and centre Mark Bennett – who was returning to the side after suffering a hamstring injury against New Zealand in November – into then action.

The gambit seemed to work. One penalty earned Glasgow an attacking lineout, another penalty, quickly taken, got them on to the front foot and Van der Merwe got his second try four minutes later, breaking a couple of tackles rather than utilise the two-man overlap outside him.

Russell’s conversion gave Glasgow a four-point lead but they were far from finished and, once again, Montpellier’s indiscipline rode to the rescue.

Russell kicked a long penalty to within five metres, Glasgow won the lineout and Gray again make huge strides towards the line.

Montpellier’s winger Luca Dupont jumped offside once too often and took a ten-minute rest in the bin.

Bennett stepped one way and then the other until, finally, Van der Merwe completed his hat-trick after breaking through another couple of tiring tackles.

There were ten minutes left for Glasgow to grab the bonus point. Pyrgos broke clear, only to be brought back for a previous knock on.

Bennett grubbered ahead and collected his own kick but, one phase later, Sean Maitland spilled the wrap-around pass with players lining up outside to score and Montpellier hacked downtown. It was nerve-shredding stuff but, on their final throw of the dice in the opposition’s 22, Glasgow were turned over at the breakdown. Not for the first time.

by funnyExiledScot Mon Jan 19, 2015 8:47 pm

It demonstrates the important of having a balanced back row with specialists in each position. A lock at 6 and a number 8 at 7 is straight from the Scott Johnson play book, and dare I say it but a couple of Glasgow backs are starting to believe their own hype and forgetting to execute the basics. There's a fine line between confidently backing yourself, and just making bad decisions. Yes, you may wriggle through a couple of tackles and every now and then get over the line as a result, but why take the chance with men outside? At the highest level that doesn't work.

I watched the Sarries game at the weekend and I thought their exploitation of space and utilisation of numbers was absolutely text book. They also had a pretty useful bloke at 6 and a large hairy lump at lock (who got himself involved in absolutely every scrap!).

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