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December 29, 2006

Border Reivers 19 - 20 Glasgow Warriors

Celtic League match played at Netherdale on Friday December 29th 2006 | 2 comments

Parks's last minute kick secured the win for Glasgow
Glasgow fly-half Dan Parks held his nerve as the visitors grabbed a dramatic injury-time victory over Borders in a Netherdale mudbath.

Sean Lineen's men looked to be heading for defeat after the Borders went six points ahead in the dying minutes.

However, replacement Colin Gregor plunged over for a try in the corner to reduce the deficit to a single point four minutes into stoppage time.

And Parksy was the Warriors hero when he slotted a stunning conversion to give his side the glory and put them in pole position for a Heineken Cup slot next season.

Glasgow, aiming to build on last week's morale-boosting win over Edinburgh, were caught cold as their rivals came bursting out the blocks to open up a nine-point lead.

After two minutes, the visitors' forwards were penalised at a ruck and Calum MacRae slotted the kick.

MacRae missed a second opportunity soon after but atoned by doubling the lead following an infringement by Andy Henderson.

The Glasgow centre sinned again in the 15th minute with a blatant punch on Nick De Luca and MacRae completed a hat-trick of penalties.

However, rampant Reivers were halted in their tracks when Dan Parks bisected the posts after Steve Jones failed to release the ball in the tackle.

The points seemed to settle the Warriors while the Borders were rocked on 26 minutes when Simon Danielli was stretchered off.

It looked a savage blow for the Scotland winger who was making his first appearance after recovering from a fractured cheekbone sustained six weeks ago.

Danielli was able to resume briefly after treatment but failed to appear for the second half.

Things appeared even gloomier for the Borders when Glasgow notched the first try of the game after 33 minutes when Andy Henderson's break made room for Hefin O'Hare to steam over on the right flank.

Dan Parks converted to put the Warriors ahead for the first time but the Reivers reclaimed the lead deep in first-half stoppage time following yet another infringement by the visitors.

This time they were penalised for handling in the ruck and MacRae launched a monster 45-metre kick to give his men a two-point advantage.

The home full-back missed the opportunity to increase the lead on the restart with a rare wayward kick after Glasgow's Samoan prop Justin Va'a had been sin-binned for a string of infringements.

At the other end, Parks failed to cash in when he failed to connect with a 30-metre penalty and watched in misery as the ball dribbled under the posts.

Conditions were becoming increasingly difficult in the torrential rain and howling winds and fluent rugby became almost impossible.

It looked as if the efforts of the two kickers would settle it and in the 70th minute, Parks put the Warriors ahead after the Reivers pulled down a maul.

However, with just three minutes remaining, the home side looked to have taken a decisive lead when Kelly Brown received a quick throw-in and plunged over for MacRae to convert.

Their hopes were dashed in dramatic circumstances when Gregor sped over in the corner deep in injury time and Parks held his nerve to slot the crucial winning points.

Referee Rob Dixon (SRU)
Attendance 1,542
Man of the Match Andy Henderson - big defence and always made ground with ball in hand
Team
1
Justin Va'a
2
Scott Lawson
3
Euan Murray
4
Dan Turner
5
Alastair Kellock
6
Andy Wilson
7
John Barclay
8
Jon Petrie
9
Graeme Beveridge
10
Dan Parks
11
Thom Evans
12
Scott Barrow
13
Andrew Henderson
14
Hefin O'Hare
15
Rory Lamont
Sub
Fergus Thomson
Sub
Kevin Tkachuk
Sub
Andy Newman
Sub
James Eddie
Sub
Sam Pinder
Sub
Colin Gregor
Sub
Sean Marsden
Match Substitutions
Off On
Jon Petrie James Eddie
Off On
Scott Lawson Fergus Thomson
Off On
Graeme Beveridge Sam Pinder
Off On
Dan Turner Andy Newman
Off On
Justin Va'a Kevin Tkachuk
Off On
Scott Barrow Colin Gregor
Scorers
Dan Parks Penalty
Hefin O'Hare Try 
Dan Parks Conversion
Dan Parks Penalty
Colin Gregor Try 
Dan Parks Conversion
Comments
Posted by gnasher on December 30, 2006 10:47 AM | Reply to this comment

Great result - two wins away from home by one point. I'll take that any day. It suggests the team is developing a dogged character and spirit. Well done guys!

Posted by mediumsizedal on December 30, 2006 11:02 AM | Reply to this comment

Yes-excellent result, especially in rotten conditions. Glasgow have often been on the receiving end of these last kick games, so it's nice to win one. Let's hope the winning momentum keeps going for the Ulster match (there don't seem to be any easy Magners League games now-all the sides seem capable of beating each other on their day).

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