Glasgow Warriors v Cardiff Blues, 6 September

First topic message reminder :

Welcome to the new season. A cracking opening game presents itself.
 
Friday 6th September 2013
Kick off:19:35
Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow
Live on TG4 and BBC Teuchter
 
Referee: Dudley Phillips (IRFU, 35th competition game)
Assistant Referees: David Changleng, Graeme Marshall (both SRU)
Citing Commissioner: Iain Goodall (SRU)
TMO: Jim Yuille (SRU)
 
A. Form - Head to head:
 
Glasgow v Blues
 
20 Played 20
10 Wins 10
10 Losses 10
0 Draws 0  
38 Tries 42
26 Conversions 28
47 Penalties 34
2 Drop Goals 1
389 Points 371
25 Avg. Age 25
 
B. Last season:
 
Saturday 6 October 18:30, Cardiff Arms Park    
Cardiff Blues 3 - 18 Glasgow Warriors
 
Friday 1 March 19:35, Scotstoun  
Glasgow Warriors 29 - 13 Cardiff Blues
 
C. Teams:
 
1. Glasgow  
 
15. Peter Murchie
14. Sean Lamont
13. Mark Bennett
12. Alex Dunbar
11. Byron McGuigan
10. Scott Wight
9. Henry Pyrgos
 
1. Jerry Yanuyanutawa
2. Pat MacArthur
3. Ed Kalman
4. Tim Swinson
5. Al Kellock (Captain)
6. Rob Harley
7. Chris Fusaro
8. Richie Vernon
 
Substitutes:
16. Fraser Brown
17. Gordon Reid
18. Moray Low
19. Tyrone Holmes
20. Jonny Gray
21. Chris Cusiter
22. Ruaridh Jackson
23. Tommy Seymour
 
2. Cardiff  
 
15.Tom Williams
14.Harry Robinson
13.Owen Williams
12.Gavin Evans
11.Chris Czekaj
10.Rhys Patchell
9.Lloyd Williams
 
8.Robin Copeland
7.Josh Navidi
6.Macauley Cook
5.Filo Paulo
4.Bradley Davies
3.Scott Andrews
2.Matthew Rees (C)
1.Taufa’ao Filise
 
Substitutes:
16.Marc Breeze
17.Sam Hobbs
18.Benoit Bourrust
19.James Down
20.Luke Hamilton
21.Lewis Jones
22.Gareth Davies
23.Dafydd Hewitt
 
D. Glasgow fans lexicon:
 
Time on these boards has demonstrated that Glasgow fans use an uncommonly broad selection of nicknames and slang to describe the various members of their team.
 
For those unfamiliar with this gibberish, the following may assist:
 
Alphabetty Spaghetti - D.T.H. van der Merwe, wing
Angel - Gabriel Ascarate, centre
Angela - Jon Welsh, prop
Barry - Byron McGuigan, wing
Big Boab - (see Ginger Tackle Monster, the)
Big Mike - (see Coo, the)
Big Naka - Leone Nakarawa, lock/loosie
Bluto - Josh Strauss, loosie/no.8
Centre, the - (see Lesser Messiah, the)
Coo, the - Michael Cusack, prop
Cooseetah - (see Cus)
Cus - Chris Cusiter, scrum half
DTH - (see Alphabetty Spaghetti)
Flippy - (see Toonie)
Fozzy - Christopher Fusaro, loosie
Furra Lineeeee - Peter Horne, centre
Ginger Tackle Monster, the - Rob Harley, loosie
Guns - Tim Swinson, lock
Henners - Henry Pyrgos, scrum half
Hoggy - Stuart Hogg, full back/wing/centre
Ickle Jon - Jonny Gray, lock
Jedi - James Eddie, loosie
Lesser Messiah, the - Richie Vernon, loosie/no.8
Mark of Nazareth - (see Messiah, the)
Meatball, the - Duncan Weir, fly half
Messiah, the/  - Mark Bennett, centre
Niko - Nikola Matawalu, scrum half
Niko's Mate - Jerry Yanuyanutawa, prop
No Maits - Sean Maitland, wing
Rhubarb - Ruaridh Jackson, fly half
Ruck Inspector, the - Alastair Kellock, lock
Schlong - Sean Lamont, centre/wing
Sherlock - Tyrone Holmes, loosie
Shrek - Gordon Reid, prop
Toonie - Gregor Peter John Townsend MBE, head coach
Wee P - Pat MacArthur, hooker
Weegie from Fiji, the - (see Niko)

How about that lad Bennet

Don't know what the stats were for that half, but cardiff must have won the territory battle. Their kicking from hand was pretty good.

  looks like a handy kicker at goal though

Just got round to turning this on. Any danger of a try being scored?

George Carlin wrote:Just got round to turning this on. Any danger of a try being scored?

no

Filo Paulo looks really lazy. Not impressed at the moment.

Wish Alba would zoom the camera in a bit. A lot of the coverage feels very distant

Not the most exciting start to the season!

Pishin doon.

Terrible call from Dudley there.

Irish ref makes dodgy call - surely not?

That call has turned the match

?

Think Swinson has been Glasgows best player thus far

A soggy crowd of 5052 tonight. Decent figure

I'm disappointed to say that  is mortal after all. (He just missed a kick.)

If I was one of the 5000 I would want my money back.

I think Cardiff might nick this...

PATCH!!!

Fair play Patchell good dg.
Glasgow need to man up

Williams and Patchell have been better than Wight and Pyrgos; better tactically, and more precise

It's not hard to be better technically or be more precise than Wight...  

 

 

Finally a try! And a great line from Seymour

Very lazy from Bradley. Has to make that :/

woooooo! I take it back, looks like Glasgow might nick this!

7 point lead & a man up for the rest of the game. Noice

I feel as though I may have spoken to soon...  

And that all stems from Glasgow failing to execute a proper exit strategy and putting themselves under immense pressure. Very sloppy

7 v 7 in the pack. I'd sub out a back for a forward, get the advantage in the scrum :/

Time for old heads from Glasgow

Great effort by the pack there.

Well it wasn't pretty but a win is a win.
Great to see Cusiter back and looking sharp.
Lets hope Kellock isn't in those crutches for too long

Hard fought win there  

Player ratings someone

Lovely aggressive defence at the end there; that was more like the team from last season. And it took the old stars to seal it.

Hahaha Lamont, that has to be one of the happiest post game interviews I've seen

Well that was pretty much the definition of 'a wins a win'!

Hard to take much from that considering the conditions, but it wasn't great from Glasgow.

I'm still concerned about Glasgow when they are lacking their game changers - Niko, Strauss, Hogg, Maitland, and was disappointed with the Glasgow midfield who were pretty much anonymous.

But still - horrific conditions and a win to start, onwards and upwards!

AGree with you RDW, Glove etc, I thought prygos was too slow tonight, even with the conditions. Wight hoofed it one too many times too. When Cusiter and Jackson came on, there was less kicks and some quicker ball and BOOM! something happened.

Swinson would have been my mano of the match, epic in defence and very quick to turn over ball in messy rucks etc. Thought Reid did very well when he came on and Holmes did well too off the bench when Fusaro was getting treated.

Look forward to Ulster game!

Still a win is a win and to grind out a messy one is just the signs of a good team usually so look forward to seeing the team step up and settle in again, also they suit dry weather so much more so I am still pretty happy with it, always good to get the first one out the way,,

Gameplay was hampered by the weather and a butter-coated ball, however that aside, here's my player ratings for The Weedge. (Kicks in brackets)

15 - Murchie - 6, solid, ran some good lines
14 - Shlong - 8, moved about the park with ferocity and showed experience well, MOTM
13 - - 7, great defence and kicked well (2/3pk) {one monster kick to level at 3-3!}
12 - Dunbar - 5, solid, good defence, fairly anonymous in attack
11 - McGuigan (injured after 15mins)    - Seymour, 8, scored only try of the game and ran some excellent lines
10 - Wight - 5, not his best game, struggled to release his midfield and his kicking is really inconsistant (2/4pk),    - Jackson - 7, showed experience and guille when coming of the bench (1/1pk, 1/1con)
9 - Pyrgos - 6, solid and reliable, speed of delivery wasn't bad considering the conditions,     - Cusiter - 7, sharp and quick, his and Jacko's introduction brought a kick-up-the-erse for the Weedge, resulting in Tommy's try, good to have Cus back.

8 - Vermon - 6, sin-binned at the end was a downer but showed his skills well
7 - Fusaro - 7, ankle biting phirana of a player   - Holmes - 4, showed promise but looked a little rusty maybe [looks a good signing]
6 - Ginger Tackle Monsta - 7, his worst is average and today was ok
5 - Capt Kellock (Injured after 19mins)   -  Jonny Gray, 7 impressed with some good tackling
4 - Swinson - 7, good around game, very solid
3 - Kalman - 5, solid but really slow    - Low, 5, solid scrumming as usual, missed a tackle or two though
2 - MacArthur - 7, great defender    - Brown, 4, 7min cameo, bit ok under pressure under home posts
1 - Big Jerry - 6, solid    - Shrek, 5, solid scumming and defended well

More detailed analysis to follow (the train is currently stopped at Jordanhill while some ned tw@t decides that life with Rhona, Shona and his 14 children by 18 different women is worth living, and climbs off the bridge), but one thing occurs to me.

These are the sort of stodgy, frustrating, weather-dictated games that Glasgow had real trouble with last year (in evidence, I present the game against Leinster last December). We were poor for the most part and didn't capitalise on the small tactical opportunities that yield points, but we're a hell of a lot better than we were this time last year.

Oh, and Rab C NoJob has climbed down. He's going to turn his life around and take a course in philosophy (specializing in logical positivism) at Strathclyde. Round of applause for Rab.

Glasgow were lucky tonight, but its a hard fought win for an inexperienced team in filthy weather, which will do no end of good, and they got increasingly better throughout the game. Cardiff looked sharp 9 and 10, but Glasgow had the edge up front and out wide.

15. Murchie: (5) Spilled ball and his kicking wasn't too impressive.
14. McGuigan: (5) Early injury robbed him of a chance to build on his impressive preseason.
13. Bennett: (6) A revelation (!) with his boot, knocking over 50 metre kicks into the wind with ease. That he took a later one with the wind, within Wights range, was noted. His hands are good, but he still needs to work on his decision making at this level.
12. Dunbar: (6) Good, solid work.
11. Lamont: (7) A rambunctious, bellicose, reassuring presence.
10. Wight: (3) What to say? He suffered from lack of match practice at times last season, but this is his opportunity and he needs to stamp his authority on proceedings much more. He was outplayed by Patchell, who made better decisions throughout the game. Had some joy with the high-ball, but he is a confidence player without any confidence. Deserves another chance in good weather.
9. Prygos: (6) Decent kicking, and is vocal. Didn't do enough in the loose.
8.  Vernon: (6) Looked Willing,
7. Fusaro: (5) Curtailed by facial injury. Size not a problem.
6. Harley: (6) His usual self. Loves to tackle!
5. Kellock: (5) Nasty early leg injury
4. Swinson: (8) A beast. Knocked Bradley Davies around for fun, disrupted the lineout, always looked for work, and showed real hunger for the ball.
3. Kalman: (7) Glasgow's scrum was the better of the two, and got better throughout the game. Did his job consistently.
2. MacArthur (6) Seems to have adapted to the new laws.
1. Yanuyanutawa (6) Was pinged a few times by Phillips.

The game was won by the subs:
16. Fraser Brown (5) One for the future
17. Gordon Reid (6) Did what he needed to.
18. Moray Low (7): Possibly the best of the replacements.
19. Tyrone Holmes (6) Good work on the try-line to stop L.Williams
20. Jonny Gray (6) No-one missed Kellock.
21. Chris Cusiter (6) Looked better than Pyrgos
22. Ruaridh Jackson (7) Looked really good, though everything's relative. His break, with Bennett, almost put Seymour in for a second.
23. Tommy Seymour (7) His try was very sharply taken. He created it himself.

From a Blues viewpoint I thought that was pretty encouraging, I suspect we had most territory and possesion and showed a lot of good intent with our pick and drive. The breakaway try was the difference. Patchell looks more and more like the real deal, our pack held its own and the young backs continued to gather good experience ... yes posotive ... although not as posotive as winning

They almost got a draw, Newsilure. Looks like LW scored but was inconclusive.

ye, most of the time when coaches say its the performance they are pleased about, after they have just lost, I usualy think their talking nonsense but in the context of our last season this performance was encouraging.

A win's a win but pretty dire handling and sloppy set piece from the Warriors. Had we played Leinster or Munster we would have lost by a cricket score.

Oh and Fusaro had a shocker, has to be dropped ASAP.

madmaccas wrote:Oh and Fusaro had a shocker, has to be dropped ASAP.

Who's going to replace him?

Tramptastic wrote:

madmaccas wrote:Oh and Fusaro had a shocker, has to be dropped ASAP.

Who's going to replace him?

Vernon. Never been convinced by Fusaro, he's solid but gives away a tremendous amount of penalties.

Was ordered by heavily pregnant Mrs GC to do something else last night (and you don't argue with that) so I didn' catch the game and I'll have to catch the highlights today.

Sounds like Blues were very good value for their LBP and were unlucky not to have had more.  

Bordill should get more starts if Fozzy is struggling but he was great agains Quins and I would expect o see him bounce back.