Glasgow 34-10 Edinburgh: Warriors secure home Pro14 semi-final

Ali Price scored Glasgow's second try at Scotstoun

Glasgow Warriors secured a home Pro14 semi-final with a bonus-point victory over Edinburgh, who missed out on next season's Champions Cup.

Warriors sought a win to finish top of Conference A and crossed in the first half through Sam Johnson and Ali Price.

Niko Matawalu and Tommy Seymour went over in the second period and Adam Hastings kicked a total of 14 points.

Duhan van der Merwe got Edinburgh's only try and Simon Hickey's boot amassed five points.

And Richard Cockerill's side will enter the Challenge Cup next term after finishing fifth in Conference B.

Dave Rennie's Glasgow will meet either Ulster or Connacht in the Pro14 semi-final at Scotstoun over the weekend of 17/18 May.

• 'Embarrassing' Saracens loss motivated Glasgow - Rennie

Glasgow power their way to semi-final

Edinburgh were aware before kick-off that their Pro14 play-off hopes were dead by dint of Benetton's defeat of Zebre. For them, a place in the play-off for next season's Champions Cup was the prize and for that they needed a minimum of two points to finish fourth.

If the visitors suffered the pre-match blow of knowing that their league campaign was over, they had the boost of seeing Jonny Gray withdrawn from the Glasgow team through illness. Gray's loss, along with eight other missing Glasgow forwards, suggested that Edinburgh could at least get that European slot.

That notion faded early. Hastings put Glasgow 3-0 up early on and that became 10-0 when Johnson scored the opening try, a product of sustained pressure and then excellent decision-making and clinical finishing. Stuart Hogg, Hastings and Matawalu were all involved in putting Johnson away. The centre swerved around Darcy Graham to score at the posts.

Hickey made it 10-3 after 12 minutes but the scoring was all one-way after that. Glasgow matched, and surpassed, Edinburgh in the collisions. Tom Gordon, the rookie openside, might have had no experience of games of this intensity, but he was outstanding.

Edinburgh struggled to contain their hosts

That Glasgow power set the scene for the second try, a counter-ruck and turnover ball being ruthlessly capitalised on when Ryan Wilson - in for the stricken Gray - fed Hogg, who bounced through a tackle and then scampered away, finding Price running free outside him. Price, who was in at the heart of that pivotal ruck earlier on, ran away to score.

Hastings' second conversion attempt was good and a game that was expected to be close was now anything but at 17-3. Edinburgh's woes continued when they lost Graham to injury. The composed Hastings made their lot even worse by making it 20-3 with the boot just before the break.

Visitors left to bemoan missed opportunities

Glasgow had a stiff breeze at their back in the opening 40. The question was whether Edinburgh could do anything with it in the second. They could not.

They had tonnes of field position in the opening minutes, had Glasgow giving away a mountain of penalties under pressure, had 5m lineouts and 5m scrums and penalty advantages but could not get a thing out of any of it. Edinburgh's attacks were all about grunt, grunt and more grunt. Glasgow's defence looked like it could soak that stuff up all night.

Eventually in that seven or eight minute passage Edinburgh went wide through Van der Merwe, but Hastings was there to put him into touch. Having helped save one try at one end, the fly-half then set about creating one down the other.

Glasgow's third try - and the one that settled it once and for all - was another beauty. Scott Cummings, Seymour and captain Fraser Brown took Glasgow deep into Edinburgh territory where Hastings showed the coolness and accuracy to loop a pass for Matawalu to score in the corner.

Two more points from Hastings' boot made it 27-3, but Edinburgh's suffering was not quite done. A few dominant Glasgow scrums brought Scotstoun to its feet. That stuff meant a lot to the home team. For almost two seasons they have had to listen to Cockerill almost mocking their shortcomings in the physical exchanges, questioning their bottle on the big occasions.

This was an unequivocal response, a victory that propelled them into a semi-final at Scotstoun while simultaneously firing Edinburgh out of two competitions all at once. And it had a final flourish, too.

Seymour ensured Glasgow finished their league campaign with a bonus point

From inside their own 22, Glasgow came up with a bonus-point try. It began with the blur of movement and creativity that is George Horne, the replacement scrum-half, dummying his way through a gap and then kicking downfield.

Hogg was alive to the possibilities, taking it on and then spotting Seymour outside him to gallop over. Lethal.

Van der Merwe reduced the deficit at the end and Hickey converted, but Edinburgh's haunted look remained. This was a vicious end to their season and a win that keeps Glasgow's title dream firmly on track.

Glasgow Warriors: Hogg, Seymour, Steyn, Johnson, Matawalu, Hastings, Price; Bhatti, Brown, Z Fagerson, Harley, Cummings, Wilson, Gordon, M Fagerson.

Replacements: G Horne for Price (59), P Horne for Johnson (65), Hughes for Matawalu (65), Allan for Bhatti (69), Stewart for Brown (69), Rae for Z Fagerson (65). Not Used: Tameilau, Wilson.

Edinburgh: Graham, Fife, Johnstone, Dean, Van Der Merwe, Hickey, Pyrgos; Schoeman, McInally, Nel, Toolis, Gilchrist, Barclay, Watson, Mata.

Replacements: Shiel for Pyrgos (60), Sutherland for Schoeman (64), Ford for McInally (64), Berghan for Nel (60), Hunter-Hill for Barclay (68), Bradbury for Mata (60). Not Used: Baggott, Bennett.