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November 13, 2011

Glasgow Warriors 26 - 21 Bath Rugby

Heineken Cup match played at Firhill on Sunday November 13th 2011 | 11 comments

Stuart Hogg went over for Glasgow's first try
Richie Gray scored a dramatic last-gasp try to earn Glasgow a 26-21 victory over Bath in their Heineken Cup Pool Three encounter at Firhill.

New Zealand's World Cup winning fly-half Stephen Donald looked to have stolen the headlines after entering the fray late on to make his Bath debut when he kicked a penalty to move the visitors two points clear with just a couple of minutes remaining.

But, after man of the match Duncan Weir had seen his last-ditch drop-goal attempt half charged down, Gray raced on to the loose ball to go over for the match-winning score.

While tough on Bath, the Aviva Premiership outfit can have few complaints as they rarely threatened the Glasgow line despite having the bulk of territory and possession for long spells. Seven penalties, six from the boot of Tom Heathcote, was all they had to show for their efforts.

Glasgow went over for two tries, Gray's late effort coming after Stuart Hogg had nipped over on the hour mark, while Weir contributed four penalties.

Bath were on the board first after just two minutes when Heathcote made Ryan Wilson pay for a high tackle on Dan Hipkiss, although Weir responded in kind just seconds later when Sam Vesty was penalised for using his hands at the ruck.

Heathcote edged Bath back ahead of 17 minutes with a fine strike when the hosts collapsed a scrum on halfway, but - somewhat against the run of play - it was Glasgow who went in ahead at the interval as Weir kicked two penalties in the space of five minutes with Bath twice pinged for failing to roll away at the ruck.

Weir had the chance to extend the lead just a couple of minutes into the second period as Bath were penalised for collapsing the scrum, but saw his kick drift narrowly wide and moments later, when Glasgow were pulled up for the same offence, Heathcote thumped over another long-range penalty to restore parity.

Bath moved back in front through Heathcote's fourth penalty, a superb effort from the touchline after Tommy Seymour offended at the ruck.

Glasgow responded in fine style with the game's opening try on the hour mark, teenage full back Hogg accepting an offload from replacement Troy Nathan and spotting a gap in the Bath defence to scamper over from close range. Weir added the extras to move his side four points clear.

The deficit was almost immediately reduced to just a solitary point when Heathcote kicked his fifth penalty after Ryan Grant was pulled up for stripping the ball illegally.

The 19-year-old fly-half then squeezed the visitors back ahead 12 minutes from time with his sixth successful kick, but that was to prove his last contribution as Bath supremo Sir Ian McGeechan opted to introduce Donald at ten.

But it was the New Zealander's opposite number Weir who made the next telling contribution, starting an attack with an incisive break and eventually kicking his fourth penalty after Anthony Perenise was caught using his hands at the ruck to make the score 19-18.

Donald appeared to have had the last say when he narrowly squeezed over a penalty after Ed Kalman had infringed, but he was trumped by Gray who stole the headlines in a dramatic finale as he charged past a wrong-footed Nick Abendanon to crash over.

Referee Christophe Berdos (France)
Attendance 4,825
Man of the Match Duncan Weir
Team
1
Ryan Grant
2
Pat MacArthur
3
Michael Cusack
4
Alastair Kellock
5
Richie Gray
6
Robert Harley
7
John Barclay
8
Ryan Wilson
9
Chris Cusiter
10
Duncan Weir
11
Colin Shaw
12
Graeme Morrison
13
Rob Dewey
14
Tommy Seymour
15
Stuart Hogg
Sub
Dougie Hall
Sub
Gordon Reid
Sub
Ed Kalman
Sub
Tom Ryder
Sub
Chris Fusaro
Sub
Henry Pyrgos
Sub
Troy Nathan
Sub
Federico Aramburu
Match Substitutions
Off On
Pat MacArthur Dougie Hall
Off On
Rob Dewey Troy Nathan
Off On
Alastair Kellock Tom Ryder
Off On
Tommy Seymour Federico Aramburu
Off On
Michael Cusack Ed Kalman
Off On
John Barclay Chris Fusaro
Scorers
Duncan Weir Penalty
Duncan Weir Penalty
Duncan Weir Penalty
Stuart Hogg Try 
Duncan Weir Conversion
Duncan Weir Penalty
Richie Gray Try 
Duncan Weir Conversion
Posted by Hugues on November 13, 2011 05:15 PM | Reply to this comment

Good Start, KEEP GOING Glasgow!

Posted by Hugues on November 13, 2011 05:16 PM | Reply to this comment

Good Start, KEEP GOING Glasgow!

Posted by Alistair Hutton on November 13, 2011 05:19 PM | Reply to this comment

Bet the people left after Donald kicked that last penalty feel a bit foolish now.

Posted by Alan on November 13, 2011 06:16 PM | Reply to this comment

True. Not only did they miss a nailbiter, they turned their backs on 15 guys who needed our encouragement in the crucial last moments! I thought the most realistic way of winning would have been a Weir DG... glad it worked out the way it did though.

Posted by Phil on November 13, 2011 07:23 PM | Reply to this comment

One of the great sporting moments with Ritchie scoring at the end when all seemed lost! Not too late to change your mind Ritchie!

Posted by sunday5 on November 13, 2011 07:50 PM | Reply to this comment

Was actually amazed to see folk leaving with several minutes to go with only a two point margin. Why buy the ticket???

Simply fantastic result, great display and was so pleased with the amount of folk that stayed behind to applaud the Warriors when the trotted back to the field.

Posted by peejay01 on November 13, 2011 09:55 PM | Reply to this comment

The result was a fair reflection of Glasgow's performance. Some glaring errors by the ref - maybe someone should explain the offside rule to him...


;0

Posted by DW on November 14, 2011 01:59 PM | Reply to this comment

Sorry, have to disagree. Two poor teams on the day and we, for once, got the rub of the green. Bath should have been out of sight in the first half, it took us until the 32nd minute to get into their 22, such was their dominance but they failed to convert all that pressure to keep us in the game. Too many times we were one missed tackle (and there was plenty in the first half) away from conceding tries.

Posted by hp18 on November 15, 2011 09:32 PM | Reply to this comment

Why should they have been out of sight? They may have had the possession but our defence meant they couldn't make it count. That's good play by Glasgow in my book. Not saying we played a good game but seriously.

Posted by DW on November 15, 2011 10:17 PM | Reply to this comment

Our defence wasn't exactly wonderful in the first half, how many times did they waltz past our guys as if they weren't there? We were fortunate.

Maybe you should take your blinkers off, and realise that.

Posted by hp18 on November 16, 2011 10:25 AM | Reply to this comment

Rubbish first up but good scramble defence kept them at bay. To borrow a phrase from someone infinitely more qualified than either of us "scoreboards don't lie"

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