Glasgow take spoils at the Arms Park

Editor

Glasgow Warriors recorded an impressive 18-3 victory over Cardiff Blues in the RaboDirect PRO12 at the Arms Park on Saturday.

Glasgow recorded an impressive 18-3 RaboDirect PRO12 win over Cardiff Blues at the Arms Park on Saturday.

Peter Horne slotted four first half penalties as the Warriors led 12-3 at the interval, with Cardiff's response coming through Leigh Halfpenny.

The visitors then added two more three-pointers for the only scores of a disappointing second period.

Last season's play-off semi-finalists Glasgow opened the campaign with two defeats, but three successive victories has seen them get back on track.

Despite a raft of injuries, the Warriors have performed impressively over recent weeks and they managed to control the opening stages of this encounter effectively. In fact, their set-piece dominance enabled them to build pressure on the Blues' defence.

The hosts held out until the 17th minute when Horne slotted his first penalty of the half before he kicked another soon after.

Cardiff were simply struggling to get into the game and they drifted further behind through the dead-eye boot of the visiting centre.

Horne then added his fourth from the tee to take the visitors 12-0 ahead, but the Welsh side finally registered on the board through Halfpenny.

The second period continued in the same vein as the Glasgow kicker took his chances with consummate ease. Two further three-pointers extended their advantage to 15 points and, although the hosts' full-back looked to have reduced the arrears with a try, the ball was adjudged to have been knocked on, which ended the Blues' challenge.

The scorers:

For Cardiff Blues:
Pen: Halfpenny

For Glasgow:
Pen: Horne 6

Cardiff Blues: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Harry Robinson, 13 Gavin Evans, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Tom James, 10 Ceri Sweeney, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Andries Pretorius (c), 7 Josh Navidi, 6 Rory Watts-Jones, 5 Lou Reed, 4 James Down, 3 Benoit Bourrust, 2 Rhys Williams, 1 Campese Ma'afu.
Replacements: 16 Marc Breeze, 17 Taufa'ao Filise, 18 Scott Andrews, 19 Macauley Cook, 20 Robin Copeland, 21 Lewis Jones, 22 Gareth Davies, 23 Dan Fish.

Glasgow: 15 Peter Murchie, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Alex Dunbar, 12 Peter Horne, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Henry Pyrgos, 8 Ryan Wilson, 7 John Barclay, 6 Josh Strauss, 5 Al Kellock (capt), 4 Tom Ryder, 3 Mike Cusack, 2 Dougie Hall, 1 Gordon Reid.
Replacements: 16 Finlay Gillies, 17 Ofa Fainga'anuku, 18 Ryan Grant, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Chris Fusaro, 21 Niko Matawalu, 22 Byron McGuigan, 23 Stuart Hogg.

Referee: Giuseppe Vivarini (Italy)
Assistant referees: Tim Hayes (Wales), Phil Fear (Wales)
Television match official: Tony Rowlands (Wales)