Five key games as Glasgow Warriors stormed to URC title

The effort from the Warriors pack to stop the hosts as they mauled from 5m out was outstanding and typified the spirit among the whole squad all season.  

Winning the final against the odds in South Africa should be considered the best result by a Scottish club side in the professional era. The win against defending champions Munster at Thomond Park should be right up there too.  

But there have been some stunning wins throughout the course of the season as Franco Smith’s side joined Gregor Townsend’s class of 2015 in the Glasgow Warriors history books.  

We have taken a look at some key moments in the Warriors’ season.  

Glasgow Warriors 43-25 Leinster 

Glasgow scorers - Tries: McKay, Cancelliere, Jones, Fraser, G Horne, Matthews, Penalty try; Conversions: Jordan (2), G Horne 

Josh McKay celebrates scoring his try with Stafford McDowall (Image: SNS)

A hugely impressive start to the league season as the Warriors’ Scotland contingent put the disappointment of the World Cup behind them and dished out a seven-try rout of Leinster.  

Huw Jones was one of four scorers in the first half, while Johnny Matthews crossed for the first of his 14 league scores that saw him finish as the URC’s top try scorer.  

Despite Leinster missing their Ireland internationals, it was a statement win to kick off the campaign.  

Glasgow Warriors 40-7 Dragons 

Glasgow scorers - Tries: McKay (2), McDowall (2), Afshar, Cordero; Conversions: Thompson (4), Weir 

Ben Afshar scored on his first start for Glasgow against Dragons (Image: SNS)

Typically it might be odd to have a bonus point thumping of a team that usually frequents the lower echelons of the table among your season-defining games, but this win came at an important time for the Warriors.  

It was during a Six Nations fallow week, meaning Smith was without many of his front-line stars and juggling the availability of others.  

But Glasgow blew away the visitors with two of their six tries coming in the first three minutes, Josh McKay and Stafford McDowall – two stars of the campaign – the scorers.  

Ben Afshar also scored on his first professional start, while Facundo Cordero marked his debut with a try. With the likes of George Horne, Kyle Steyn and Sione Tuipulotu away with Scotland, Smith needed his squad players to stand up, and they did so in style.  

Bulls 40-34 Glasgow Warriors 

Glasgow scorers - Tries: M Fagerson, Steyn, Cancelliere, Weir; Conversions: Horne, Jordan, Weir (2) Pen: Horne, Weir 

Duncan Weir's introduction sparked a comeback in Pretoria (Image: SNS)

A defeat, yes, but a final quarter comeback from 37-10 down may well have sown seeds of doubt in the minds of the Bulls players during the Grand Final.  

The Warriors were nowhere for an hour, but the introduction of the bench – and a sterling cameo from Duncan Weir, clawed back two losiing bonus points, which were vital n securing a home quarter-final.  

Munster 10-17 Glasgow Warriors 

Glasgow scorers – Tries: Steyn, Cancelliere; Conversions: Horne (2); Penalty: Horne 

Glasgow's defensive effort at Thomond Park was outstanding (Image: Getty Images)

One the aforementioned last eight clash with the Stormers had been navigated, Glasgow faced the prospect of visiting the defending champions at Thomond Park. The Limerick venue has been something of a fortress for Munster in knockout rugby, but they could not shake the Warriors.  

Smith’s side stopped wave after wave of red jerseys and showed a clinical edge to finish their only try-scoring chances of the game as captain Kyle Steyn and Sebastian Cancelliere touched down.  

The silence inside Thomond Park at full-time was telling. But for the Warriors, there was one final, improbable hurdle.  

Bulls 16-21 Glasgow Warriors 

Glasgow scorers – Tries: Cummings, Turner, Jones; Conversions: Horne (3) 

Huw Jones celebrates his try with Zander Fagerson (Image: Getty Images)

After beating the defending champions, Smith took his side back to his native South Africa for a shot at the title. They only had six days to prepare, and acclimatise to the altitude of Loftus Versfeld.  

The experience of their trip just six weeks earlier was so important. The players knew what to expect 1,350m above sea level. 

While the hosts dominated the first half and were 13-0 up just before the break, the game’s turning point came when Scott Cummings crashed over. That try gave the Warriors hope of overhauling the deficit.  

The second half was simply sensational. George Turner marked his final appearance for the club with a try before Huw Jones scored what turned out to be the championship winner.  

Then followed the heroic defensive effort on the line to hold out the Bulls pack as they attempted to take the game to extra-time.  

The 2015 title win felt like the culmination of years of effort from that team, but this feels like just the beginning for this Warriors side, transformed under Smith, who must now ensure they are back at the business end of the season in 12 months time.