DTH van der Merwe is now Glasgow's all-time top try scorer

The Warriors knew they had to win to have any chance of claiming home advantage in the play-off semi-final. However, with Ulster and Leinster both winning at home Glasgow now face a trip to the RDS.

A Ruaridh Jackson drop-goal put the Warriors on the scoreboard early on and after 16 minutes DTH van der Merwe went over in the corner for the try that makes him Glasgow's record try scorer.

Ruaridh Jackson's conversion gave Glasgow a ten-point lead, which was reduced by three as Dan Parks slotted Connacht's first points a minute before the half-time whistle.:

Glasgow had to defend while being a man down for ten minutes after prop John Welsh was yellow carded halfway through the period, but Connacht couldn't make their numerical advantage pay.

Jackson missed an early second-half opportunity to stretch Glasgow's lead, as the game entered a period where Connacht gained the upper hand.

But Stuart Hogg, buoyed by his inclusion in the forthcoming Lions party, came off the bench to add a penalty after 66 minutes, before the best move of the match came just moments later, as his Lions colleague Sean Maitland crossed the line after a great break from Nikola Matawalu.

Hogg's conversion from the touchline gave his side a 20-3 lead with ten minutes to play, a scoreline that remained until the final whistle giving the Warriors their first win in Galway since 2007.

Gregor Townsend told glasgowwarriors.org: "We had a really tough match here against a team we've not beaten since 2007 and on a good run of form, having only last two games in the last seven and they come out all guns blazing. We didn't lose confidence from a couple of clear try scoring opportunites that we didn't take and we came back with the same intensity in the second half, especially in defence, I thought it was a fantastic defensive performance.

"The bench certainly made an impact too so the effort from the whole squad was great. You want to see players putting their bodies on the line for the team and that's what they did tonight.

"Tommy Seymour was outstanding and hadn't played since we lost to Leinster and Sean Maitland made a big impact of the bench and looked sharp. I was also really pleased with DTH, breaking the club try scoring record.

"Hopefully Dougie Hall's knee injury isn't too bad - he's on crutches - but apart from that everyone else is fine."

The Warriors now travel to Dublin to face Leinster at the RDS next Saturday in a repeat of last year's play-off and Gregor is expecting a very tough match.

"They have been the best attacking team in Europe for the last two or three years and they're really on form again after a little blip over Christmas. We'll be playing one of the best teams in Europe at their home and we're really looking forward to it."