Fergus Watson impressed for Warriors

It was an entertaining affair with both sides demonstrating their attacking flair and early-season rustiness.

Glasgow lost Ben Afshar after only five minutes. The scrum-half had to go off for a head injury and didn't return after failing his HIA.

It was the visitors who struck first, Callum Chick powering over from close range before Tom Pearson added a second try after sustained Saints pressure.

Glasgow responded through Dan Lancaster, finishing a sweeping move created by the impressive Fergus Watson, but Pearson's second of the evening reasserted Northampton's grip.

Glasgow struck back with Watson involved again as he collected a high pass and broke through tackles to put replacement scrum-half Jack Oliver in for the try.

It was pretty much end-to-end stuff and Saints went crossed for their fourth try when George Hendy went over in the corner.

After a Lancaster penalty gave his side a lineout five metres out, the Glasgow maul went to work with Gregor Hiddleston getting the ball down for the score and the final word of the opening 40 minutes would also belong to the hooker.

Northampton did well to defend another short-range maul, but Hiddleston was still able to power over for his second try. Lancaster converted, giving Warriors a 26-24 lead at the interval.

The second half began in similar fashion, Hendy darting in for his second to extend Northampton's lead.

Both sides began making changes - it was a pre-season game, after all - and the flow of points stalled.

Yet the game turned when Saints replacement Luke Green was shown a yellow card and repeated infringements from the visitors. Glasgow took full advantage, with Johnny Matthews crossing from a lineout drive to give his side a 33-31 lead going into the last 15 minutes.

Josh McKay sealed the result late on with a try under the posts - after great work from Matthew Urwin - to give Warriors the 40-31 win.

Warriors head coach Franco Smith was encouraged by the resilience shown after a shaky start, particularly the impact of younger squad members.

He told The Scotsman: "The young boys, they're very coachable and weren't fazed by the first 15 minutes and we clawed our way back. It's easy to go into your shell when you play a team of the stature and the way they start, physically dominant in the scrum and there was dominance from an attacking perspective, so you end up giving it two tries away and it becomes a long evening.

"These boys have worked hard in the pre-season and tonight they showed their character. We won't win all the games, but we'll fight in every game and I think they showed that."

The Scotland youth international is naturally a full-back but he excelled on the wing with his eclectic pace and ability to weave past defenders.

On the impact of Watson, Smith said: "You see what he's done and compliments the physical development from the S&C to the S&C. He had some good moments in the 20s and now with us, he's made a big step up. He played really well last week as well. He made a lot of running metres, carry metres last week.

"And again, tonight, I think he ignited it. I think it was the example that everybody needed in the second try. It was the second try when he broke through the tackles and just did what we asked him to do."