Dragons v Glasgow: Five takeaways as ‘perfect fit’ Franco Smith addresses Wales link while ‘impressive’ Warriors set the ‘chasing pace’
Our five takeaways from Glasgow Warriors' 20-45 victory over the Dragons.
Following Glasgow Warriors’ 45-20 victory over the Dragons, here’s our five takeaways from the United Rugby Championship (URC) Round 11 clash.
The top line
Despite a sluggish start, Glasgow Warriors marched to another emphatic victory in trademark style with their pack dominating up front and their backs dazzling out wide.
It’s cliched but it’s what we’ve come to expect from the defending URC champions who crossed for seven tries in the victory at Rodney Parade.
George Horne led the charge with a try on either side of the break with Johnny Matthews of course getting on the scoresheet as well. The hooker opened the Warriors’ account in the 23rd minute with man of the match Jack Mann crossing seven minutes later.
Horne and veteran pivot Duncan Weir added further tries before the half-time whistle. Nathan McBeth, Horne and Sebastian Cancelliere all grabbed five-pointers in the second half to seal the victory and cement their second-place ranking.
As for the Dragons, they produced a brave effort against the champions as they raced into a 10-0 lead thanks to a Lloyd Evans penalty and a James Benjamin try before Glasgow’s fightback.
Shane Lewis-Hughes grabbed another try before half-time but ultimately they were outclassed by a frankly better team as the league table suggests.
George Horne lays down a Scotland marker
Gregor Townsend did release some of his Six Nations squad members for URC action this weekend and boy did Horne make the most of it.
The scrum-half came off the bench in the Round One victory over Italy but Jamie Dobbie was preferred when the Scotland boss opted for a 6-2 bench split a week later with the number nine able to cover the wing too.
Horne threw down a marker against the Dragons though with a top-notch performance in every facet of the game as his box kicks were on point as was his passing while he cantered away for a lovely try in the second half after crossing in the first.
He has stiff competition in the form of Ben White for the starting role but he certainly put his hand up and reminded the Scotland coaching team of what he is capable of at Rodney Parade.
Wales stars in the spotlight
Matt Sherratt may well have cast an eye on today’s action despite ramping up preparations for his first Test as Wales’ interim head coach against a mighty Irish outfit.
The Cardiff boss will know many of the Dragons players rather well having come up against them several times recently, but a new coach at the helm of the Test team always gives players that extra incentive to perform.
Lewis-Hughes is undoubtedly one of those players who would be driven by a fresh perspective from a new man in the hot seat and while he a consistent performer for the Dragons, he did seem to play with an added edge today as he thundered into rucks, tackles and carries and pitched in with a try. The 27-year-old has a handful of caps for his country but has struggled to force his way back into the Test squad with so much competition in the back-row positions.
Another back-rower who shone in the defeat was the impressive 21-year-old Ryan Woodman – who can also play in the second-row. The lineout is a real strength of the rookie and he shone in that facet of the game again today while he also claimed a turnover and worked tirelessly throughout the match.
Finally, Rio Dyer was starved of attacking ball but was rather sharp defensively considering all the threats that Glasgow posed in their backline.
Franco Smith’s Test ambitions
It was always going to come up this week with the Warriors taking on a Welsh region in Wales.
Franco Smith has become the new Jake White in the sense that when a vacancy opens up, his name is immediately thrown in as a possible successor.
With Warren Gatland gone and Sherratt taking over in the interim, Smith would be a great fit for Wales and the man himself did not rubbish the idea.
“I would like to coach international rugby again. I won’t lie, I think most coaches dream of it but for now, I’m just focused on what needs to be done today and we will look at it,” he told Premier Sports before the match.
“Obviously, I am still under contract with the Glasgow Warriors and you never know.”
Today’s performance was perhaps another example of why the Welsh Rugby Union should be in touch with the South African as he has turned this Glasgow team into true warriors.
When Smith arrived, Glasgow certainly had the puzzle pieces to build a strong team, but they needed to be placed in the right order and given the belief that they could be successful. Few, if any, would have given them a chance of winning the United Rugby Championship and when fronted with an away run to the title, doubts would have arisen. However, Glasgow beat the odds to clinch the trophy in an impressive fashion which has resulted in the interest in their head coach.
Depleted by a plethora of Scotland call-ups, Glasgow were slow starters today going down 10-0 early on the fixture but this championship-winning team made easy work on that deficit and raced into a 24-13 lead before a late Dragons fightback reduced that to 24-20.
The defending champions started the second half brightly and did not let go from there as they secured another impressive victory.
Wales are much like the pre-Smith Glasgow in that they have the talent in their player pool but are lacking the belief and direction to get results making the South African the perfect fit long term but will he be the man entrusted to turn things around? Only time will tell but the WRU would be silly not to pick up the phone at least.
Glasgow set the chasing pace, Dragons show small improvements
With the South African teams having games in hand, there was always a chance that Glasgow could lose their second-place ranking on the table. But following their victory today and results elsewhere over the weekend, second spot is safe for now.
Smith’s men are still 10-points adrift of the pacesetters Leinster in top spot but the Scottish side are leading the chasing pack having dropped three of their 11 fixtures so far.
They do have challenging fixtures ahead but considering how the team is performing without their Scotland stars, they are well-placed to keep the pace and apply the pressure on Leinster.
Meanwhile, the Dragons made the shock decision to show Dai Flanagan the door earlier this season and earlier this week it was confirmed that his interim replacement Filo Tiatia had signed a multi-year contract with the club.
Tiatia has been in charge since November and while the Welsh region still prop up the table winning just one of their 11 games, today there were clear signs of improvement. Glasgow have possibly the best driving maul in club rugby but today they struggled to maul over for tries despite getting good positions to strike from.
The side also showed real heart on defence and battled right to the final whistle looking to at least get a point out of the clash against the champions. They weren’t nearly as ill-disciplined as they have been in recent times. When you hit rock bottom, there isn’t anywhere to go but up however that’s often harder said than done but the Dragons are getting there.