Glasgow Warriors' full house maps home route to Champions Cup final as Maro Itoje loses cool with scrum-cap

They have never made it beyond the quarters before but this feels like a season where anything is possible for Franco Smith’s side.

Their 28-3 win over Saracens meant they have plundered the maximum 20 points from their four matches in Pool 1. Their reward is a tie in the round of 16 against old foes the Bulls at Scotstoun. Were they to win that, they would meet either Toulon or the Stormers in a home quarter-final.

“We’re in a pretty good place as a team but it’s the old cliche, you don’t want to get too far ahead of yourself because that's when you come unstuck,” said George Horne, who scored the third of his side’s four tries and was named player of the match on what was his 150th appearance. “We’re a group with a bit of confidence right now and we’ve just got to keep that turning over, week by week.”

Glasgow had never got the better of Saracens since beating them at Hughenden in 2004 but they didn't look like losing on an evening when they were hungrier and far more dangerous in attack than their English opponents.

The three-time European Cup-winners came north fresh from beating Toulouse but this performance paled next to that one. They will now meet Bath away in the round of 16.

Glasgow also beat Toulouse, of course, and can now add the scalp of Saracens to those of the French giants, Sale and Clermont.

Bonus-point wins for Glasgow

All games were won with a bonus-point, although Glasgow left it late on Sunday evening. Seb Stephen’s try in the 82nd minute ensured the maximum haul after first-half scores from Ollie Smith, Kyle Steyn and Horne. Horne added three conversions and Dan Lancaster one. Saracens’ only points came from an Owen Farrell penalty.

Bordeaux are the only other club in the pool phase to take 20 points from their four matches and head coach Smith deserves all the plaudits that will come his way.

The weekend results also mean that Edinburgh have qualified for the last 16 and they will travel to Dublin to play Leinster in early April.

Warriors and Saracens share a colourful history and there was plenty of spice in the latest encounter. A sold-out Scotstoun was at its raucous best and the Glasgow rain couldn’t dampen the home support’s enthusiasm.

An early try helped as well and Alex Craig deserved much of the credit for Ollie Smith’s score. It was the lock who made the break which took the Warriors deep into enemy territory and the execution thereafter was as slick as you like. The ball went through the hands of Horne, Tuipulotu and Lancaster before Smith finished things off.

Jack Dempsey seemed to be everywhere and had a brief contretemps with Farrell in between his more positive endeavours.

Glasgow looked far more up for it than the visitors and they monstered Sarries at a scrum, allowing Horne to break down the blindside with a clever chip. The English side were on the backfoot and resorted to desperate measures. Juan-Martin Gonzalez, their Argentina flanker, slapped the ball out of Dempsey’s hands and was yellow-carded for his troubles.

Things were threatening to boil over, particularly when Maro Itoje ripped off Zander Fagerson’s scrum cap and tossed it away. It was a dumb move by the Lions captain as it handed Glasgow penalty advantage and they went on to plunder two more tries while Gonzalez was in the bin.

Tuipulotu’s wrecking ball run opened the door and Steyn followed through to score, running a lovely line off Horne’s pass as the Sarries defence parted. The scrum-half scored a try of his own three minutes later after great work by Tuipulotu and Dempsey, both outstanding throughout. It was Horne’s 63rd Warriors try in his 150th appearance. He landed the conversion - his third of the evening - to make it 21-3 after 31 minutes.

Equally important was Glasgow’s defence and they held firm while under immense pressure in the seconds before half-time, earning the appreciation of their vociferous fans.

Saracens put pressure on after break

Saracens seemed to lack conviction when opportunities presented themselves in the first half but they were far more of a threat after the interval. They spent the third quarter camped in the Glasgow 22 but, much to their frustration, they couldn’t breach the stubborn home defence.

Even when reduced to 14 men, the Warriors were able to hold out. Kyle Rowe was the home player sent to the bin and could consider himself unlucky. There was nothing the full-back could do as his head made contact with the head of Rotimi Segun, the impressive Saracens winger who had been sent flying by a thumping tackle from Steyn.

Glasgow stood their ground from the subsequent penalty and there was another big defensive effort a couple of minutes later as Saracens were penalised at the scrum.

It seemed to knock the stuffing out of the visitors and Glasgow ended the game on top. Steyn almost scored his second try with a bullocking run and then Sarries replacement Noah Caluori was sent to the sin-bin as the visitors tried desperately to hold out. They couldn’t, and Stephen ensured Glasgow finished with a flourish by scoring from a lineout drive in the final play of the match. The bonus-point win was exactly what they deserved.

Scorers: Glasgow Warriors: Tries: Smith, Steyn, Horne, Stephen. Cons: Horne 3, Lancaster.

Saracens: Pen: Farrell.

Yellow cards: Juan-Martin Gonzalez (Saracens, 21min), Kyle Rowe (53min), Noah Caluori (75min).

Glasgow Warriors: K Rowe; K Steyn, H Jones (S McDowall 64), S Tuipulotu, O Smith; D Lancaster, G Horne (B Afshar 73); P Schickerling (R Sutherland 47), G Hiddleston (S Stephen 60), Z Fagerson (S Talakai 60, A Craig (G Brown 47), S Cummings (M Williamson 60), M Fagerson, R Darge, J Dempsey (J Ferrie 73).

Saracens: E Daly; M Malins (N Caluori 53), L Cinti (O Hartley 62), O Farrell, R Segun; F Burke, I van Zyl (C Bracken 53); E Mawi (R Carre 47), J George (J Hadfield 68), M Street (M Riccioni h-t), M Itoje, H Tizard, T McFarland (T Willis 47), J-M Gonzalez (A Onyeama-Christie 53), B Earl (Gonzalez 77).

Referee: Luc Ramos (Fra).