Five things we learned as Glasgow crowned URC champions

Tries from George Turner and Huw Jones turned the game on its head after Johan Goosen kicked two early penalties to give the hosts a 6-0 lead.  

A loose Huw Jones pass nearly allowed Kurt-Lee Arendse to race clear, but the Scotland centre showed great pace to recover. And Glasgow needed to show the grit they’ve added to their attacking game as Rory Darge held up Wilco Louw over the line to further deny the hosts.  

But the resistance was broken when Marco van Staden broke through a double-tackle to score the game’s opening try just before the half-hour. Goosen’s conversion stretched the home lead to 13-0.  

But the Warriors hit back when Scott Cummings crashed over from close range after terrific work by Matt Fagerson took the visitors close. George Horne’s conversion cut the gap to six points at the interval.  

Glasgow made a bright start to the second half, but it was the hosts who extended their lead with Goosen landing another penalty.  

But the visitors struck straight back, George Turner, on his final Glasgow appearance before he heads to Japan, driving over from a well-constructed maul after the home side conceded a penalty from the restart. Horne converted to make it 16-12.  

Glasgow hit the front with quarter of an hour to go when the outstanding Steyn broke clear, and after several phases inside the Bulls’ 22, Huw Jones collected an inside ball from his captain to score the visitors’ third try. Horne converted for 16-21.  

Jack Dempsey thought he had scored a breakaway fourth for the Warriors, but George Turner was penalised for an early tackle.  

George Horne was short with a long-range penalty inside the final 10 minutes and Glasgow were dealt a blow when Tom Jordan was sent to the sin-bin for a high tackle with three minutes to go. 

But the Warriors held out to secure a famous win and the title for the first time in nine years. 

On a historic afternoon for Scottish rugby at Loftus Versfeld, here are five things we learned.  

Physicality key 

On their first attack, Glasgow hit through the midfield using their two best carriers, Sione Tuipulotu and Jack Dempsey, but neither was able to get over the gainline. The next time they were inside the Bulls’ 22, the Warriors were 13-0 down and looked more dangerous when they picked direct from the base of the ruck. But the Bulls recovered well to stop the attack.  

When the Warriors did get on the front foot, they caused problems and scored a vital try through Cummings. 

What a difference a year makes 

Last May, Glasgow Warriors reached the Challenge Cup final, only to be blown away by Toulon in Dublin. They looked overawed by the occasion as the French side’s experience told in an emphatic win.  

There was no chance of that on this occasion. When they could have folded under pressure, struggling to get a foothold in the game and 13-0 down, Franco Smith's side rolled their sleeves up and dragged themselves back into the game. 

They were up against it down to 14 after Tom Jordan was shown yellow late on, but the Warriors again dug in to secure victory.

Discipline a problem at times - but Warriors recovered well

Just like last week at Thomond Park, Glasgow found themselves on the wrong side of referee Andrea Piardi. Not only did Johan Goosen kick two penalties in the opening quarter of an hour, but there were only 22 minutes on the clock when Kyle Steyn was called for and the Warriors given a warning.  

When Glasgow got back into the game, their discipline was noticeably better. The Bulls infringed at the breakdown on numerous occasions in the second period.  

Changes helped sort out set-piece

Bulls lock Ruan Vermaak said during the week they were confident of their set-piece. They conceded the fewest penalties in the URC regular season at scrum-time, and caused Glasgow all problems.  

Glasgow earned a valuable scrum penalty early in the second half as the Warriors began to earn parity up front, and the introduction of George Turner helped Glasgow’s lineout after the break. 

The biggest win in Scottish club rugby history 

Glasgow’s only other title win came nine years ago when they beat Munster in Belfast. There were hundreds of Warriors fans at Kingspan Stadium that afternoon – far more than were inside Loftus Versfeld for this trumph.  

Given they had to make the 8,500-mile trip in groups earlier in the week, had limited training time in the build-up and made a bad start to the game, this must be considered the finest win by any Scottish club side in the professional era.  

Bulls: Devon Williams, Sergeal Petersen, David Kriel, Harold Vorster, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Johan Goosen, Embrose Papier; Gerhard Steenekamp (Matanzima 74), Johan Grobbelaar (van der Merwe 46), Wilco Louw (Klopper 74), Ruan Vermaak (Ludwig 67), Ruan Nortje (c), Marco van Staden, Elrigh Louw, Cameron Hanekom (Carr 47) 

Try: van Staden (25) 

Conversions: Goosen (26) 

Penalties: Goosen (2, 14, 50) 

Glasgow Warriors: Josh McKay, Sebastian Cancelliere (Dobie 60), Huw Jones, Sione Tuipulotu, Kyle Steyn (c), Tom Jordan, George Horne; Jamie Bhatti (McBeth 45), Johnny Matthews (Turner 45), Zander Fagerson, Scott Cummings, Richie Gray (Brown 60), Matt Fagerson, Rory Darge (Venter 60), Jack Dempsey 

Tries: Cummings (40), Turner (53), Jones (63) 

Conversions: Horne (40, 54, 64) 

Yellow card: Jordan (77) 

Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy) 

Attendance: 50,388 

Player of the Match: Matt Fagerson