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September 16, 2006

Glasgow Warriors 24 - 13 Munster

Celtic League match played at Hughenden on Friday September 15th 2006 | 13 comments

Dan Parks put in a man of the match performance
Dan Parks was the Warrior king as Glasgow broke their Magners League duck by hammering the Heineken Cup holders.

The Scotland stand-off was back to his best, gathering a 19-point haul to thrill the Hughenden faithful.

His tally included a dramatic interception touchdown which knocked the stuffing out of the European giants.

Glasgow coach Sean Lineen was forced to rejig his line-up just minutes before the kick-off when Argentinian full-back Francisco Leonelli pulled out with a calf injury.

Leonelli had tweaked a hamstring during training on Thursday, but thought he would be OK. However, the problem returned in the warm up, so Colin Shaw filled the number 15 slot, with Scott Barrow being called on to the bench.

Shaw's joy was to turn to gloom, however, as he was stretchered off with a damaged leg midway through the first half.

Munster made all the early running, only to find themselves three points adrift after six minutes.

They failed to roll clear of the tackle scene inside their own danger-zone, giving Parks a simple penalty chance.

The Irishmen hit back strongly, prompting Glasgow to make a spate of basic errors. And it was no surprise when Jeremy Manning confidently struck the equaliser in the 15th minute.

Parks was quickly back in the spotlight to edge his side back in front with a beautifully-executed penalty from 40 metres.

And the personal game of ping-pong continued just 60 seconds later as Manning replied in identical fashion.

Suddenly, Glasgow upped the pace to create a superb try for winger Thom Evans in the corner.

Parks taunted the Munster markers with a crossfield run before sending a perfectly-weighted chip towards the line.

The defence appeared to have it covered - until new recruit Evans nipped in to scoop up the loose ball and gleefully dive over.

Parks was wide with the angled conversion, but rediscovered his touch to land his third penalty just before the break.

The fly-half then launched a drop-goal attempt, only to see it being blocked by the advancing Munster locks.

Parks made no mistake, however, just after the restart when he delivered another blow to the province in the shape of penalty number four.

Even better was to come from Parks five minutes later. His sense of anticipation was extra-sharp as he latched on to a floated pass in the Munster midfield before scuttling 70 metres to complete the interception score.

And he still had sufficient puff to bag the conversion to stretch the margin to 18 points.

The Warriors had their tails up with Evans and Johnny Beattie almost breaking through again, but they were on the back foot when Sam Pinder was yellow carded before Tom O'Leary nipped over for Munster - Eoghan Hickey adding the goal.

Report from Sporting Life

Referee Nigel Owens (Wales)
Attendance 2,295
Man of the Match Dan Parks
Team
1
Justin Va'a
2
Fergus Thomson
3
Euan Murray
4
Andy Newman
5
Alastair Kellock
6
Andy Wilson
7
John Barclay
8
John Beattie
9
Graeme Beveridge
10
Dan Parks
11
Thom Evans
12
Andrew Henderson
13
Sean Marsden
14
Hefin O'Hare
15
Colin Shaw
Sub
Eric Milligan
Sub
Kevin Tkachuk
Sub
Dan Turner
Sub
Steve Swindall
Sub
Sam Pinder
Sub
Colin Gregor
Sub
Scott Barrow
Match Substitutions
Off On
Colin Shaw Scott Barrow
Off On
Justin Va'a Kevin Tkachuk
Off On
Andy Newman Dan Turner
Off On
Andy Wilson Steve Swindall
Off On
Graeme Beveridge Sam Pinder
Off On
Fergus Thomson Eric Milligan
Scorers
Dan Parks Penalty
Dan Parks Penalty
Thom Evans Try 
Dan Parks Penalty
Dan Parks Penalty
Dan Parks Try 
Dan Parks Conversion
Comments
Posted by martin on September 16, 2006 09:06 AM | Reply to this comment

Brilliant! So they can do it after all. Well done guys.

Posted by sunday5 on September 16, 2006 09:35 AM | Reply to this comment

We didn't just scrape a win against the Champions last night, we comfortably beat them. They may not have scored a try had Pinder not been sent off within a minute of being sent on! It was a superb showing and Mr Parks was razor sharp. Budgie would never have put in a performance like that, Parks really showed his worth last night.

Also, what a turn out! We were hoping to get 2,000 but ended up with 2,200+. This is more like it.....

Well done lads!!!

Posted by behindtheposts on September 16, 2006 10:29 AM | Reply to this comment

Yes they can do it but we've always known they were capable of one off results like this. What we want to see now is that word which appears to be dreaded by supporters, players,coaches et al... namely consistency! When they start to realise that one result will not appease the fans and actually string together a sequence of results then fine lets start getting excited but until then lets keep our feet on the ground!

Posted by Parksy_Gal10 on September 16, 2006 10:42 AM | Reply to this comment

Well done boys!!!! Im so glad we beat Munster and fantastic display from all the boys especially from Dan Congrats Dan!!!

Posted by Andrew Nisbet on September 16, 2006 10:38 AM | Reply to this comment

Responsibility and passion - YES. And determined defending. Now do the same in Cardiff next week and we will all start to believe.

Posted by Alistair on September 16, 2006 11:42 AM | Reply to this comment

Well, that was a bit better. Control, and steel in defense. Nicely done.

The backrow was far better balanced. The JBs need to play together. If Donnie is on the pitch then the other two backrowers need to be beefy and physical (ie Petrie and Swindall).

That said, the first 16 minutes was comically inept stuff, but once we got the score you could see it was going to be Glasgow all the way.

Posted by mediumsizedal on September 16, 2006 04:50 PM | Reply to this comment

Yeah-much better-the forwards scrapped well and showed mental & physical hardness that has been lacking so far, especially when down to 13. Better game from Kellock-but the lineout didn't function well-at least 3 crucial throws went wrong in attacking positions. Backs looked a lot sharper with both Marsden & Barrow (he really is a class act) and the first up tackling was great. Lets hope this can continue.

Posted by vicki on September 16, 2006 05:10 PM | Reply to this comment

Agree that both Scott Barrow and Sean Marsden had very good games. A few "regulars" may be growing concerned about getting their starting shirts back, which will hopefully increase competition for places and improve performances.

The pack fronted up well - is Peter Wright starting to show his influence? Lets hope it continues.

Well played Warriors - you gave the increased crowd a good reason to return to Hughenden to get behind the team. The long-overdue result should give the squad confidence, and set them up for the rest of the season.

Posted by bossco85 on September 16, 2006 07:27 PM | Reply to this comment

excellant game! the backs have never looked so slick at they did with barrow and marsden, parks had the kind of game that he has always been capable of...the forwards looked to have a much harder edge last night which definatly helps giving the back good ball to attack, john beattie WILL be a great signing for the lads...i am feeling optimistic again, long may it continue, all the best to colin shaw.

Posted by martinK on September 16, 2006 08:18 PM | Reply to this comment

Fantastic result, lets keep the feet on the floor, its pointless if we then don't turn up next week! Think the backrow has a very settled look to it, think JP and Donnie might be thinking of retiring!! Thinks its great for the scottish game that we have two young kids the likes of Barcley and Rennie both playing out of their skin at 7, Gives the national team hope that we've finally found a player who has the makings of a World class open side!

Posted by snday5 on September 17, 2006 03:19 AM | Reply to this comment

JP and Donnie have plenty left in the tank, we would be daft to wright them off. They'll be back and I'm sure they'll have a point to prove.

Posted by Big Blue on September 18, 2006 12:25 PM | Reply to this comment

JP should be ok for Friday.

Posted by A True Warrior on September 17, 2006 10:34 PM | Reply to this comment

Fantastic performance, when serious questions were begining to be asked about the team and its supporters everyone stepped up to the mark, long may it continue!!! On another point we need to find a way of having Barrow and Henderson on the pitch at the same time!!!

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