Franco's Warriors bully Jake's lame Bulls
MATCH REPORT: Franco Smith made a big statement against the Jake White-coached Bulls, as Glasgow Warriors recorded a commanding 35-21 win in their United Rugby Championship Round Four encounter on Saturday.
The five tries to three victory flatter the visitors, as the Warriors were far more dominant than the 14-point margin suggests.
The Bulls offered none of the physicality, skill and enthusiasm that took them to last season's Final.
In contrast, the Warriors bullied the Bulls in every aspect of the game.
* To recap the drama, CLICK HERE!
The Warriors got their campaign back on track with this impressive victory.
Having been beaten by Ospreys last time out, they bounced back with a scintillating first-half performance against last season's finalists, which paved the way for the win.
Glasgow ran out of steam in the final quarter, but dug deep to defend heroically.
The Warriors took a seventh-minute lead when they kicked a penalty to the corner before launching a series of close-range attacks, which culminated in Matt Fagerson bustling over.
George Horne added the conversion and the Warriors were straight back on the attack from the restart and scored their second try just three minutes later.
This time Sione Tuipulotu, Glasgow's captain, and Fraser Brown combined to send Sebastian Cancelliere on a 30-yard dash to the line.
The Bulls kept turning the screw but the hosts defended superbly, and their resilience was rewarded when Horne scored a fantastic solo try to secure the bonus point with 35 minutes played.
The scrumhalf broke from halfway and rode at least three tackles on his way to the line.
The Warriors started the second half as they ended the first and another breathless passage of play led to try number five when Cancelliere was put into space on the right, stepped past the first defender and then sent Josh McKay over with a brilliant one-handed offload.
Player of the Match
Glasgow Warriors No.8 Matt Fagerson scored the opening try and was a huge influence throughout because of his workrate, aggression and explosiveness in contact.
Play of the match
George Horne was guilty of coughing up possession at the base of ruck which handed the Bulls their opening try, but he did not let that get to him and made amends with a scintillating break from halfway that saw him bounce out of three tackles for an exceptional solo score, which he converted for good measure.
The scorers
For Glasgow
Tries: M Fagerson, Cancelliere, Cummings, Horne, McKay
Cons: Horne 5
For the Bulls
Tries: Arendse, Du Plessis, Swanepoel
Cons: Smith 2, Steyn
Yellow cards: George Horne (Glasgow Warriors 55 - foul play, holding player down), Elrigh Louw (Bulls, 55 - foul play, reaction to provocation)
Teams
Glasgow: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Sebastian Cancelliere, 13 Sione Tuipulotu (captain), 12 Sam Johnson, 11 Cole Forbes, 10 Tom Jordan, 9 George Horne, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Thomas Gordon, 6 Gregor Brown, 5 Richie Gray, 4 Scott Cummings, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Fraser Brown, 1 Jamie Bhatti.
Replacements: 16 George Turner, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 Lucio Sordoni, 19 Jean-Pierre du Preez, 20 Sintu Manjezi, 21 Ryan Wilson, 22 Ali Price, 23 Domingo Miotti.
Bulls: 15 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 David Kriel, 11 Stedman Gans, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Izak Burger, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 Marco Van Staden, 6 Marcell Coetzee (captain), 5 Ruan Nortjé, 4 Walt Steenkamp, 3 Francois Klopper, 2 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.
Replacements: 16 Bismarck Du Plessis, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Janko Swanepoel, 20 Reinhardt Ludwig, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Morné Steyn, 23 Wandisile Simelane.
Referee: Andy Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: David Sutherland (Scotland) & Ru Campbell (Scotland)
TMO: Mark Patton (Ireland)