Glasgow grind out narrow URC win over Connacht

Ben Afshar scored the pick of the tries for Glasgow

United Rugby Championship

Glasgow Warriors (17) 22

Tries: Cancelliere 2, Afshar Cons: Weir 2 Pens: Weir

Connacht (5) 19

Tries: Hawkshaw 2, O'Conor Cons: Hanrahan 2

Glasgow strengthened their grip on second place in the United Rugby Championship table by grinding out victory over a resolute Connacht at Scotstoun.

The Irish side crossed the whitewash first through David Hawkshaw, but Warriors hit back with tries from Sebastian Cancelliere and Ben Ashfar to lead 17-5 at the break.

Hawkshaw and Cancelliere exchanged further scores in the second half and although Piers O'Conor crossed late on for the visitors, Glasgow held firm to secure the victory.

Franco Smith's side now lead third-placed Bulls by seven points having played two games more than the South African outfit.

With both teams shorn of a raft of internationals before the Six Nations kicking off next weekend, a lack of cohesion was evident for large spells of what was a scrappy contest in difficult conditions.

Having first joined the club back in 2010, Duncan Weir was leading the Glasgow side as captain for the first time and the fly-half banged over a penalty to get Warriors up and running.

Connacht were dominating the exchanges in the opening quarter however, and got their reward when Hawkshaw charged down Ollie Smith's attempted clearance kick before gathering to score.

Henco Venter got Glasgow back on the front foot with a powerful burst and when the ball was whipped wide Cancelliere darted through a gap to go over for Glasgow's first try.

The game was bobbing along without much happening until a majestic show-and-go from prop Fin Richardson saw him slip through the Connacht defence, before offloading to Alex Samuel who sent Ashfar sprinting free to the try line.

Glasgow led by 12 at the break but it was Connacht who struck early in the second half, some neat handling sending Hawkshaw away for his second try of the match.

Having played into a strong breeze in the first half, the Irish side now had the wind at their backs and had an opportunity to reduce the deficit to two points, only for JJ Hanrahan's penalty attempt to come back off the upright.

Warriors gave themselves some breathing space with their third try. Strong carries from Smith and Jack Mann took Glasgow to the brink of the Connacht line before Cancelliere found himself in the right place at the right time again to dot down.

The visitors were not done yet and O'Conor raced over two minutes from time to set up a nervy finish, but Glasgow managed the final moments well to see it out for the win.

Line-ups

Glasgow Warriors: McKay, Cancelliere, Smith, Munn, Cordero, Weir, Afshar; Schickerling, Matthews, Richardson, Ferrie, Samuel, Miller, Venter, Mann.

Replacements: Stewart, McBeth, Talakai, Duncan, Roberts, Fraser; Kennedy, Johnston.

Connacht: Cordero, Mullins, O'Conor, Hawkshaw, Ralston, Hanrahan, Blade; Dooley, Heffernan, Aungier, O'Connor, Joyce, Murphy, Hurley-Langton, Jansen.

Replacements: Tierney-Martin, Duggan, Illo, Dowling, Boyle, Devine, Carty, Treacy.

Referee: Ben Breakspear