Five things we learned as Glasgow fall to Sharks defeat

Early on the returning winger Sebastian Cancelliere showed good feet a couple of times and hooker Gregor Hiddleston made a good turnover.

A grubber kick through by centre Stafford McDowall then caused the Sharks defence problems, but from the resultant scrum near the home side’s line loosehead prop Nathan McBeth gave away a free kick and the chance had gone.

In the 11th minute a scrum penalty was earned by the Sharks and stand-off Jordan Hendrikse kicked it over from long range to make it 3-0.

Six minutes later the Warriors then made a statement with a scrum penalty being earned, McBeth doing week versus experienced tighthead prop Vincent Koch.

And in the 18th minute a wonderful pass from skipper Sione Tuipulotu gave winger Kyle Rowe space on the edge. He then fed inside to McDowall who found George Horne and the scrum-half went over for a try. Horne converted and it was 7-3.

Hendrikse then had the chance to make it 7-6, but he missed a penalty opportunity in the 24th minute.

Three minutes later the South African team went ahead when, after they had gone close with a lineout drive, back-row Siya Kolisi showed good footwork to go over for a try. Hendrikse converted and it was 10-7.

McBeth was then forced off injured for Glasgow with Rory Sutherland replacing him.

The try that the Sharks had scored gave them a real injection of energy and they were firing towards the Glasgow try line. Their second try came when full-back Aphelele Fassi was the sharpest thinking man on the field and took a quick tap to go over from five metres out. Hendrikse could not convert and it was 15-7 after 33 minutes.

Crucially, after being on the back foot for a few minutes, the Warriors got their second try four minutes before half-time.

A lovely backs move found Rowe on the edge again and he showed great awareness to kick it back inside and the ever-alert Horne was the man who got there first to score. Horne did miss the relatively simple conversion though and it was 15-12 at the break.

A dominant scrum penalty won by the Sharks early in the second half showed the Warriors, if they needed reminded, what they were still up against and Hendrikse kicked a penalty to make it 18-12.

The Warriors tried to hit back immediately and they attacked well in the Sharks 22 for 12 phases before a knock-on saw the chance disappear.

And, as the hour mark came, the score remained the same until what looked like a late tackle on Cancelliere by number eight Phepsi Buthelezi. It sparked a bit of a scuffle, but in the end referee Chris Busy calmed things down.

The Warriors then made four replacements at one time to try and give themselves some impetus, but a few minutes later one of those subs, Gregor Brown, was yellow carded for a shoulder to head tackle on Buthelezi.

Hendrikse kicked the resultant penalty and Glasgow were 21-12 down and out of reach of even a losing bonus point at that stage.

In the 70th minute it was game, set and match when the Sharks scored their third try and it was similar to Horne’s second.

This time, winger Makazole Mapimpi’s kick set up the try for replacement scrum-half Grant Williams and Hendrikse converted.

That was 28-12, but then two late tries via back-row Rory Darge and then replacement Johnny Matthews - the latter with the clock in the red after great build up play by McDowall and Rowe – saw Glasgow finish with a flourish. Replacement Adam Hastings converted the latter and it finished 28-24 as they earned a four-try and a losing bonus point.

A frustrating defeat, but those two points earned could be crucial as the season goes on.

Here are five things we learned. 

Excellent attack for first half tries

We have become used to seeing slick attack from Glasgow Warriors over the last couple of years and the two tries they scored in the first half here were great examples of that. Sione Tuipulotu’s pass to Kyle Rowe was the key to the first try while, for the second one, a number of players played their part to get Rowe the ball and his kick for George Horne was perfect.

George Horne’s second try was crucial

When the Sharks got on the front foot and scored tries in the 27th and 33rd minutes to lead 15-7, Glasgow were up against it. If the Sharks had scored again before the interval then it really would have been a tough second half, but instead the Warriors scored in the 36th minute and they way they are able to shift from defence to attack is impressive.

Fassi fantastic under the high ball

As the hour mark approached and the Warriors were looking to claw back things from 18-12 down they were going to the skies quite a lot with kicks, but in the Sharks back field full-back Aphelele Fassi was taking everything and that was stopping the Warriors from getting any momentum going. The 26-year-old Springbok is some talent.

Too many penalties conceded made it hard for Glasgow

By just after the hour mark the visitors had conceded 11 penalties and that was stopping them really getting on the front foot for any significant number of phases. They were also making quite a few handling errors with a slippy ball and it just wasn’t quite as crisp as we have come to expect from them, though the Sharks defence deserves credit.

Massive character shown at the end

When Gregor Brown was sin-binned in the 66th minute and then Glasgow went 28-12 behind their heads could have gone down, but this team is made of stronger stuff. The late tries from Rory Darge and Johnny Matthews to earn two bonus points showed everyone what this Warriors squad is all about.

The Sharks: Aphelele Fassi; Eduan Keyter, Lukhanyo Am (Julius 76), Andre Esterhuizen, Makazole Mapimpi; Jordan Hendrikse, Jaden Hendrikse (Grant Williams 53); Ox Nche (Nyakane 69), Bongi Mbonambi (Dreyer 69), Vincent Koch, Eben Etzebeth (C), Emile van Heerden (Jenkins 62), Siya Kolisi (Venter 62), Manu Tshituka, Phepsi Buthelezi.

Tries: Kolisi (27), Fassi (33), Williams (70)

Conversions: Jordan Hendrikse 2 (27, 70)

Penalties: Jordan Hendrikse 3 (11, 45, 66)

Glasgow Warriors: Josh McKay; Sebastian Cancelliere, Stafford McDowall, Sione Tuipulotu (C), Kyle Rowe; Tom Jordan (Hastings 69), George Horne (Dobie 61); Nathan McBeth (Sutherland 29), Gregor Hiddleston (Matthews 61), Zander Fagerson (Talakai 61), Max Williamson (Brown 61), Scott Cummings (Samuel 76), Matt Fagerson, Rory Darge, Jack Dempsey (Venter 50)

Tries: Horne (18, 36), Darge (78), Matthews (80)

Conversions: Horne (18), Hastings (80)

Yellow card: Brown (66)

Referee: Chris Busby (IRFU)

Player of the Match: Aphelele Fassi (The Sharks)