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October 07, 2006

Glasgow Warriors 25 - 0 Border Reivers

Celtic League match played at Hughenden on Friday October 6th 2006 | 12 comments

Colin Gregor was faultless with the boot
Glasgow Warriors fly-half Colin Gregor inspired his side to a emphatic 25-0 victory over Border Reivers at Hughenden on Friday, repaying success-starved coach Sean Lineen for his act of faith.

Lineen had sparked a surprise by picking Gregor in the playmaking role ahead of Scotland star Dan Parks.

And he responded with a brilliant 20-point display of marksmanship to kick-start Glasgow's Magners League challenge, leaving the ragged Reivers stranded at the foot of the table.

Borders looked the more fired-up side during the error-strewn opening exchanges - however it was Glasgow who seized the initiative in terms of getting early points on the board.

Reivers created an instant try chance with a slick handling move, only to surrender possession when it mattered most - almost under the Warriors crossbar.

And they were forced to back-pedal quickly to prevent Thom Evans latching on to Hefin O'Hare's speculative hoof upfield.

The home side kept up the pressure and broke the deadlock with an angled penalty by Gregor, who then repeated the feat from the same spot to give his team a useful cushion after 11 minutes.

Borders suffered a further setback midway through the half when flanker Andy Miller was sent to the sin-bin for careless use of the boot at a ruck.

Warriors earned a string of penalties close to the visitors' line and Gregor completed his treble with another confident strike from the left side of the park.

Then came the moment the Glasgow fans were craving as Thom Evans bagged the opening touchdown.

The former Wasps star began the move by punching a hole in the Reivers fringe defence. Two phases later, he was perfectly positioned to scoop up a deft chip by John Barclay and plunge over in the corner.

Gregor's conversion was from the widest possible angle, but he made it look easy, creating a 16-point gap in the process.

Borders gained more possession towards the end of the first half but they were unable to make any telling dents in the well-drilled home defence.

Glasgow grabbed back the momentum after the restart with Gregor continuing his superb display by adding two more penalties in quickfire order.

And the Reivers plight grew even more serious when outside half Steve Jones became their second yellow-card victim for killing the ball illegally on the deck.

Borders refused to buckle completely and, thanks mainly to the guts and guile of fit-again Chris Cusiter, they pinned the Warriors back in their 22 area for a long spell.

But their finishing did not match their lead-up work and Glasgow enjoyed a stroll to the final whistle.

Evans thought he had added a second touchdown, but referee Peter Allan ruled a forward pass seconds earlier.

Referee Peter Allan (Scotland)
Attendance 1,980
Man of the Match Colin Gregor
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
Colin Gregor
11
Thom Evans
12
Andrew Henderson
13
Graeme Morrison
14
Hefin O'Hare
15
Rory Lamont
Sub
Scott Lawson
Sub
Kevin Tkachuk
Sub
Dan Turner
Sub
Donnie Macfadyen
Sub
Sam Pinder
Sub
Dan Parks
Sub
Scott Barrow
Match Substitutions
Off On
Andy Wilson Donnie Macfadyen
Off On
Fergus Thomson Scott Lawson
Off On
Euan Murray Kevin Tkachuk
Off On
Rory Lamont Dan Parks
Off On
Graeme Beveridge Sam Pinder
Off On
Justin Va'a Kevin Tkachuk
Off On
Andy Newman Dan Turner
Scorers
Colin Gregor Penalty
Colin Gregor Penalty
Colin Gregor Penalty
Thom Evans Try 
Colin Gregor Conversion
Colin Gregor Penalty
Colin Gregor Penalty
Colin Gregor Penalty
Comments
Posted by sunday5 on October 7, 2006 11:27 AM | Reply to this comment

What a game, the whole team were superb. Gregor was outstanding and I bet Parks is feeling a little nervous. The only odd thing is the size of the crowd, it seemed to me that there were a lot more than 2,000 people there and when I was buying my ticket I heard someone say that the stand was sold out. Are the figures totaly reliable? I suppose they are from ticket sales but it did seem like a pretty big crowd. Perhaps thats why folk prefer Hughenden as it appears busier than it is.
Still, well done lads. Even our Scrum minced theirs. All good to see.

Posted by vicki on October 7, 2006 12:04 PM | Reply to this comment

Good to get a win, and defence stayed strong to deny the Borders a score, despite the periods of pressure they had.
While Colin Gregor had a good game, I also thought Johnny Beattie stood out amongst the forwards. Rory had a good return to the side, anyone else thinking he wanted to show Thom Evans he had competition?!?!?!?
Well done guys - we need to be confident in winning at home!

Posted by Alistair on October 7, 2006 12:05 PM | Reply to this comment

Something is definetly messed up with the row reporting at Glasgow games. In particular, last season the crowd for the Glagow-Edinburgh game at Firhill was reported at 2003 people, hich is a joke as there were at least 3000 there,

Posted by George on October 7, 2006 01:32 PM | Reply to this comment

The only thing that needs to happen now that Gregor is starting is to play Scott Barrow ouside him and watch them go

Posted by mediumsizedal on October 7, 2006 02:48 PM | Reply to this comment

Sunday5-you're getting a bit carried away!! Yes it was a good win & they never looked in danger of losing BUT-they still can't score tries, Morrison is still not producing the goods and Lawson does not look fit & when he came on we lost lineouts (as well as a couple not straight). As Lineen said-they won without really playing. I wonder about Parks playing full back-he did well last night-do I detect the hand of Frank Hadden at work?? Good to see Gregor do well & Beveridge had a better game. A much better all round performance, but still a long way to go-let's see how they do against "better" opposition this Friday (Ospreys).

Posted by sunday5 on October 9, 2006 12:03 PM | Reply to this comment

Well, our Backs made big dents in their line and there were periods when they were opened up with regularity. The few occasions when the Borders got a little momentum they were harried into touch fairly quickly and Danielli, great Winger that he is, had absolutely nothing for Evans. Our Scrum also dominated theirs which surprised me and even Murrays defence was man and ball. So I can't really see how I was getting carried away but you are entitled to your opinion. The whole team showed massive improvement and long may it continue.

Posted by bossco85 on October 7, 2006 07:26 PM | Reply to this comment

well done to the boys, they fronted up really well in defence and took their chances when they where offered. gregor had a good game as did parks when he came on, he just isnt getting any luck at the moment with that disallowed try and his own break deemed to stem from a forward pass. henderson had a better night but morrison still doesnt do enough for me, hefin and evans played well, rory was fine but he isnt a full back. the forwards had a terrific game, especialy the back row and second row, wee donnie looked lethal when he came on! lawson looked very unfit but it was still good to see him back, well done to the lads again, long may it continue.

Posted by Gordon on October 7, 2006 07:35 PM | Reply to this comment

Good win - not the prettiest, but a solid performance. Great entertainment watching and listening to George Graham. Everyone was getting it - players, the referee, the touch judges and supporters. I learned some great new words...

Posted by mediumsizedal on October 7, 2006 10:04 PM | Reply to this comment

Yeah--George was an entertainment on his own-I thought at one point he was going to have apoplexy.He was more animated than most of the borders players-just as well he isn't playing. On a more serious note, I hope Hadden isn't still going to play Kerr & Douglas as his first choice props-they did nothing last night-they made Murray look good for a starting place. Kellock had a good game and must be challenging Murray (S) & Hines. Agree that Donnie looked good-maybe the competition is bringing out his best.

Posted by sunday5 on October 9, 2006 12:11 PM | Reply to this comment

Kellock did have a good game and perhaps Scott Murray should be getting nervous for his place but would you really not add Nathan Hines? We need a good sized aggressive ox in our side.
I did love Ally Kellock wee kick and chase down the wing on Friday!

Posted by Jim on October 9, 2006 04:12 PM | Reply to this comment

Carefull now guys...let's not get carried away. Our pack are getting better, but it was not a great performance. Nathan Hines is a stand out player in a French league that sets high standards for tight five players and there are few in the entire Magners League, (Paul O'Connel may even be the only one) that could reasonably be considered as good. Scott Murray should always be nervous about his place because he seems only to willing to try & throw his weight around. Anyone watching him closely in the Inter-City matches will agree that if he concentrated as much time and energy on his rugby as he does on trying to throw his weight about and bumping his gums, he would be a far better player.

We must enjoy Friday's victory but keep it in perspective, a less dilligent referee and opposing backs delivering the final pass properly, could have led to a very different result

Posted by The Pirate on October 10, 2006 10:29 AM | Reply to this comment

I agree on the 'lets not get carried away' part. Full credit to the side on the victory but if we did not beat this Reivers team it would have been very bad against a lowely placed team. Lets hope we can get on a role. Keep your head up Dan you will be back bigger and better. You know it and we know it....

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