Franco Smith's Glasgow stun Stormers
MATCH REPORT: A last-minute converted try from Seb Cancelliere saw Glasgow Warriors earn a 24-17 win over Stormers at the Scotstoun in Glasgow.
The Argentinean wing raced onto Sione Tuipulotu’s inch-perfect diagonal kick for the all-important score, which extends Warriors' winning streak to six consecutive games in all competitions.
This was their biggest scalp so far against last season’s URC champions, who currently sit second in the table.
During an action-packed first half, the Warriors drew first blood when Huw Jones hit a brilliant line and then sent Cancelliere over.
*To recap all the action CLICK HERE!!!!
But the hosts then found themselves a man down for 10 minutes when Lewis Bean was sent to the sin-bin for obstruction.
Stormers capitalised almost immediately when hooker Joseph Dweba rolled off the back of a line-out maul and powered over the line.
Manie Libbock nailed the tricky conversion to give the visitors a two-point lead.
The home team were clearly in no mood to batten down the hatches whilst reduced to 14 men, and they scored another well-worked try.
Jack Dempsey’s powerful burst got the ball rolling before slick hands from Sione Tuipulotu and Ollie Smith sent skipper Kyle Steyn over.
Momentum then swung back Stormers’ way and after several minutes of pressure they regained the lead when scrumhalf Paul de Wet sent fullback Clayton Blommetjies over.
Jones – playing his first game at Scotstoun in two years after a spell playing down in England – was clearly in the mood to put on a show against the team which gave him his break in professional rugby.
After getting assists for the first two tries, he got himself on the score sheet 10 minutes into the second half, when he skipped inside three Stormers tacklers and zipped over the line.
George Horne nailed the conversion and that proved crucial because when Stormers scored next through Junior Pokomela, and Libbok missed the conversion, it left the scores tied going into the final 10 minutes.
Libbok missed a long-range penalty attempt which would have given his team the scoreboard edge they needed, and then Cancelliere had the final say in a pulsating contest.
Player of the Match
Playing his first game at Scotstoun for two years, Warriors centre Huw Jones made a huge impact against the team where he started his professional career, laying on the final pass for his team’s first two tries, skipping past three defenders for their third, and sparks flew every time he touched the ball.
Play of the Match
All four of Glasgow's tries were things of beauty but the late winner was extra special because it was executed under serious pressure, with the home side confidently working through several phases before Sione Tuipulotu had the vision and technique to land a wicked diagonal-kick onto a six-pence for Sebastian Cancelliere to score.
The scorers:
For Glasgow Warriors:
Tries: Cancelliere 2, Steyn, Jones
Cons: Horne, Miotti
For Stormers:
TRies: Dweba, Blommetjies, Pokomela
Con: Libbok
Yellow card: Lewis Bean (Glasgow Warriors, 12 - deliberate foul)
Teams:
Glasgow: 15 Ollie Smith, 14 Sebastian Cancelliere, 13 Sione Tuipulotu, 12 Huw Jones, 11 Kyle Steyn (C), 10 Tom Jordan, 9 George Horne, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Sione Vailanu, 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 JP du Preez, 4 Lewis Bean, 3 Lucio Sordoni, 2 George Turner, 1 Jamie Bhatti.
Replacements: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Alex Samuel, 20 Euan Ferrie, 21 Cameron Neild, 22 Ali Price, 23 Domingo Miotti.
Stormers: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Dan du Plessis, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Hacjivah Dayimani, 7 Willie Engelbrecht, 6 Deon Fourie, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Ben-Jason Dixon, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Steven Kitshoff (captain).
Replacements: 16 JJ Kotze, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Connor Evans, 20 Junior Pokomela, 21 Marcel Theunissen, 22 Imad Khan, 23 Angelo Davids.
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Jonny Perriam (Scotland), Ross Mabon (Scotland)
TMO: Mark Patton (Ireland)