Warriors put Ospreys to the sword

A superb second-half performance from Glasgow Warriors saw them record their third successive victory as they put previously unbeaten Ospreys to the sword 28-17 at Firhill.

After defeating Cardiff Blues and the Dragons already this season in the RaboDirect Pro 12, Sean Lineen’s men were keen to continue their impressive run in their final season at their current home.

A try from Scotland’s World Cup star Richie Gray, and 23 points from the boot of Duncan Weir ensured the majority of the 3,400 went home happy.

The Glasgow side scored 22 points in a fantastic second half display to leave their Welsh opponents stunned after going in 12-6 down at half-time, with penalties the order of the day as Italian referee Carlo Damasco penalised both sides regularly.

Thirteen of those points came during a 10-minute spell when the Ospreys were reduced to 14 men after replacement hooker Richard Hibbard was sinbinned for entering a ruck from the side as the Damasco’s patience wore thin after a number of penalties conceded by the visitors.

The hosts drew level just short of the hour mark with two penalties from Weir, before Gray gave the Warriors the lead on 62 minutes to give the Warriors a 19-12 lead, after the TMO confirmed a try.

A missed tackle in midfield allowed Warriors’ Colin Shaw to slice his way through the Ospreys defence, only to lose his footing with the try line in sight.

For the Ospreys, however, it got a lot worse, as another Weir penalty extended the hosts lead to 10 points with just 13 minutes remaining.

A monster kick from inside the Glasgow half from Weir made the win even more comfortable, highlighting just how difficult it can be for teams to play with a man down.

The Warriors almost managed to conjure another try, but second row James Eddie met a stubborn defence from Khan Fotuali'i and Ryan Bevington forcing him into touch just a couple of metres short.

The Ospreys tried hard to play their way back into the game but another penalty from Weir, taking his personal tally to 23 points, to take away a chance of even a losing bonus point.

Sean Lineen told the Warriors’ official website: “It was pretty special actually. We knew at half-time that we needed another 10 per cent in the game in terms of intensity. We had to regroup and play the way we know we can and the guys responded well.”