Glasgow Warriors: 'No excuses' as Dave Rennie suffers first loss as head coach

The moment Exeter Chiefs clinched the win - Sam Simmonds squeezes the ball over the line late in the match to put the game beyond Glasgow's reach

Dave Rennie refused to look for excuses as Glasgow Warriors were beaten by Exeter in the European Champions Cup, the first defeat of his tenure.

The squad had a long journey back from Bloemfontein last weekend following their Pro14 victory over the Cheetahs and then lost hooker Fraser Brown early in the 24-15 loss at Sandy Park.

"We prepared really well this week," said the New Zealander.

"There's no excuses around the schedule. It is what it is."

Glasgow led 10-0 early in the match thanks to Tommy Seymour's try and Finn Russell's kicking but Harry Williams and Jonny Hill crossed the line for the Premiership champions to establish a 14-10 lead at half-time.

Lee Jones' try put the Scots within touching distance of a precious away win in the Pool Three opener before Sam Simmonds went over the line for a nine-point winning margin, thereby denying Glasgow a losing bonus point.

Brown limped off in the opening stages, with 25-year-old George Turner his replacement.

Rennie said of his injured hooker: "He's an important player to us. We've got a very young front row and he gives us a bit of experience.

"I'm disappointed to lose him, disappointed for him, but I'm not using that as an excuse.

James Short of Exeter Chiefs is tackled by Glasgow's Sam Johnson in the hard-fought encounter at Sandy Park

"George Turner has been great for us and he's brought a lot of physicality in."

Reflecting on the match as a whole, Rennie felt his team had not been accurate enough.

"They've obviously got a good set-piece," he said. "They choked us down our end of the field.

"I think we probably made too many errors down our end, lost the kicking battle and gave away too many penalties as well. They were able to put us in the corner.

"We had our chances. At 17-15 we were in the game and we had a bit of territory and position for a while but they shut us out in the end.

"I'm not sure we would have deserved to win. We put ourselves in a position to do it. In the end we have to be more accurate. There were just too many errors.

"We knew about the draw months ago, we're not using the travel as an excuse. The boys who travelled had an extra rest."

Next in European competition is a sold-out home match against Leinster, who began their attempt to win the competition for a fourth time with a bonus-point 24-17 win over Montpellier.

"We know they are very physical," said Rennie of the Irish side.

"They bring a lot of line speed defensively. It will be not too different to what we played tonight. It's a home game and all home games are must-win in this competition. We certainly won't be shy of any motivation."