Du Preez helps Glasgow crush Zebre

URC REPORT: A first-half Jonny Matthews hat-trick helped Glasgow Warriors coast to a 50-8 United Rugby Championship victory over Zebre.

JP du Preez, Stafford McDowall, Josh McKay, Thomas Gordon and Fraser Brown also went over for the Warriors.

Chris Cook scored the only try for the visitors.

Zebre flew out of the blocks and raced into a 5-0 lead before the game was two minutes old with scrumhalf Cook scuttling over from a quick tap-penalty.

Tiff Eden did not manage the touchline conversion and the hosts recovered some composure to strike back through hooker Matthews, at the back of a line-out maul which had rumbled 20-yards to the tryline.

George Horne added the extras to edge the Warriors into a two-point lead with 11 minutes played.

Zebre were in no mood to roll over, however, and it took some desperate cover defence from Sam Johnson and Ollie Smith to squeeze Luca Andreani into touch just a yard short of the line.

A side-entry penalty conceded by the Warriors just inside their own half allowed Jacopo Trulla to edge the visitors back into the lead.

Warriors reverted back to the tried and tested, kicking a penalty to the corner for another line-out drive which was again finished off by Matthews.

That seemed to settle home nerves and they struck again on the half-hour mark when Matthews latched onto a loose Zebre line-out then fed Du Preez.

The giant South African swatted aside two tacklers on his way to scoring.

The home team were now well on top without really hitting their straps as an attacking force.

In the last play of the first half, Matthews claimed his hat-trick by once again adding the finishing touch at the end of a powerful line-out maul.

That meant the bonus-point was in the bag despite the Warriors having played well below their best.

Horne had missed his two previous conversion attempts but rediscovered his kicking antennae to nail the extra two points, which made it 24-8 at the break.

Warriors stretched further ahead after Scott Cummings charged-down Ratko Jelic’s box-kick clearance, and Rory Darge combined with Horne, who sent McDowall over.

McKay was next on the scoresheet, with the Kiwi wing racing home unchallenged on an overlap created by slick Warriors hands straight from a scrum.

With eight minutes to go, Gordon finished off a try under the posts following a powerful midfield surge from Sione Vailanu, and Brown powered home in the final play to bring up the half-century of home points.

Player of the match

With a first-half hat-trick plus an assist for Du Preez, Matthews was the key man in laying the foundations for a gritty but convincing home win. The hooker clearly likes playing against Zebre because he has now scored eight tries in three appearances against the Italians.

Play of the match

Despite the impressive scoreline, this was not a vintage performance from Glasgow, with the powerful work of their forwards the key ingredient in the home win. However, Stafford McDowall’s try early in the second half was a reminder of just how dangerous Franco Smith’s side can be off turnover ball, with Scott Cummings, Rory Darge and George Horne all making vital contributions to the score.

The scorers:

For Glasgow Warriors:

Tries: Matthews 3, Du Preez, McDowall, McKay, Gordon, Brown

Cons: Horne 4, Weir

For Zebre Parma:

Try: Cook

Con: Trulla

Yellow card: Marco Manfredi (Zebre, 55')

Teams:

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Ollie Smith, 14 Josh McKay, 13 Stafford McDowall (captain), 12 Sam Johnson, 11 Cole Forbes, 10 Tom Jordan, 9 George Horne, 8 Sione Vailanu, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Scott Cummings, 5 JP du Preez, 4 Lewis Bean, 3 Simon Berghan, 2 Johnny Matthews, 1 Allan Dell.

Replacements: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Oli Kebble, 19 Alex Samuel, 20 Gregor Brown, 21 Thomas Gordon, 22 Jamie Dobie, 23 Duncan Weir.

Zebre Parma: 15 Richard Kriel, 14 Jacopo Trulla, 13 Tommaso Boni, 12 Enrico Lucchin (captain), 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Tiff Eden, 9 Chris Cook, 8 Davide Ruggeri, 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 Luca Andreani, 5 Andrea Zambonin, 4 Leonard Krumov, 3 Matteo Nocera, 2 Giampietro Ribaldi, 1 Paolo Buonfiglio.

Replacements: 16 Marco Manfredi, 17 Luca Rizzoli, 18 Ion Neculai, 19 Jan Uys, 20 Giovanni Licata, 21 Ratko Jelic, 22 Geronimo Prisciantelli, 23 Damiano Mazza.

Referee: Chris Busby (Ireland)

Assistant referees: Jonny Perriam (Scotland), Sam O’Neil (Scotland)

TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)