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Glasgow Warriors 20 London Wasps 10: match report

احدث اجدد واروع واجمل واشيك Glasgow Warriors 20 London Wasps 10: match report

Glasgow Warriors 20 London Wasps 10: match report
Read a full match report of the Heineken Cup Pool Six game between Glasgow Warriors and London Wasps at Firhill on Sunday, Jan 16 2011.
Wasps, giving one of their most inept performances in recent years at exactly the wrong time, shot themselves horribly in the foot when a significantly understrength Glasgow team still taught them any number of harsh lessons.

The net result is that a shell-shocked Wasps are left clinging on by their finger tips to any chance of a quarter-final place. Mathematically there is still a glimmer of hope, but don't hold your breath.

Even if Wasps could somehow recover from this no-show and conjure a miraculous bonus point win on Sunday over mightly Toulouse - who need to "turn-up" and chase the win required to ensure a home quarter-final - it is unikely that a final pool total of 20 points will be enough to garner one of the two best runner-up spots.

Those spots will surely come from pools four and five, although we have learnt to never say never in the Heineken Cup over the years.

Bullied up front from start to finish by Glasgow's splendid but curiously underrated front five, Wasps floundered for most of the game despite the encouragement of a cracking early try from Tom Varndell, courtesy of a searing break by Joe Simpson.



From start to finish it was Glasgow, with little more than pride to play for, who produced the intensity and focus of a team attempting to reach the quarter-finals. In so doing Sean Lineen's men struck a minor blow for Scottish rugby, demonstrating a hunger and appetite for the fray which was sorely missing from Edinburgh's abject performance at Northampton on Friday night.

"That just wasn't acceptable by our standards and we all need to look at the reasons why, but we can't sit around sulking too much because we have to front up against Toulouse next week," said Wasps' non-plussed director of rugby Tony Hanks.

"We came up here to win, we are a team and club full of ambition and we have made it very, very difficult to get through now. But I would take nothing away from them, Glasgow put us under pressure and were better. We knew it would be tough, we have always had tough games against them.

"They maintained possession and we didn't, we turned ball over too many times. Defensively we didn't put enough pressure on them. You have got to be a lot more clinical than that to win any Heineken Cup game.

"Next week now is about front up and responding. It's a home game in front of a big crowd and we have got to respond. The minimum aim is to win."

Leading the way for an inspired Glasgow team with a Man of the Match display was young No 8 Ryan Wilson, just 21, who trialled with Wasps three years ago and played a couple of A team matches before it was decided he was surplus to requirements, a decision that is now not looking so clever.

Just getting a game in the formidable Glasgow backrow is no easy task but Wilson looks a major talent and yet another tearaway who will be challenging for Scotland honours soon.

Certainly it says everything about the quality of Wilson's display that Johnnie Beattie - unavailable and guesting for Ayr down at Birmingham & Solihull - was not missed for a minute.

Glasgow started as they meant to continue with a high tempo handling game which defied the underfoot conditions which resembled a ploughed field.

Initially they went unrewarded and, after David Walder and Ruaridh Jackson had swapped penalties, it was Wasps who struck first with their one coherent moment of the game. It will look good on the highlights reel but offers no consolation whatsoever.

Simpson, promoted to the England senior squad in midweek, broke at high pace from a scrum and threw out an irresitible pass to Varndell that left the speedster little option than to tear down the left wing for a fine score. Walder added the extras from the touchline and everything indicated a fairly routine day at the office. How wrong can you be.

From that moment onwards it was Glasgow who redoubled their efforts, monopolised possession and bossed the game, although the points were slow to come. Jackson claimed two more penalties to reduce the deficit to just one point at half-time and after the break it was all Glasgow again.

Their try was a superbly taken effort, Wilson pouncing on turnover ball in his own half to send Colin Shaw sprinting down the left wing before Colin Gregor - a marvellously effective and energetic presence at scrum-half throughout - steamed up in support for a score that epitomised Glasgow's positive and committed attitude to this game.

Jackson completed the formalites with a fourth penalty and a dropped goal, with Wasps never remotely threatening to raise a late gallop.

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