Steely Glasgow Warriors put wind in Champions Cup sails with big win on the road

The sides also met on the opening night of the tournament last season, with Glasgow romping to a 38-19 win at Scotstoun. This was a different proposition altogether as Franco Smith’s side had to dig deep.

They trailed 14-0 at the mid-stage of the first half but gradually mastered the conditions and scored 26 unanswered points to wrest control back from the hosts. Sale weren’t finished however, and a try by Marius Louw brought them to within five points with 14 minutes remaining. But Glasgow stood firm and showed plenty of grit to see this one out.

They will welcome Toulouse to Scotstoun next Saturday in their second pool game which will be a massive occasion but for this weekend at least they can reflect on a job well done in Greater Manchester.

“It’s huge,” captain Kyle Steyn said of the result. “It’s a really tough place to come and play, down here at Sale. After last week’s defeat in the URC [against Scarlets], the boys were really keen to bounce back and I’m really proud of them, especially our big boys up front.”

Glasgow rang the changes after that shock defeat in Wales, with Smith selecting a completely new pack. They stood up powerfully against Sale, particularly the back row of Matt Fagerson, Rory Darge and Jack Dempsey.

Steyn also played a captain’s innings. He was superb in the air and scored the important third try early in the second half that put Glasgow ahead for the first time. Their other scores came from Gregor Hiddleston, Rory Darge - in the first half - and Stafford McDowall, on his 100th appearance for the club. Adam Hastings added three conversions.

Ernst van Rhyn, Ollie Davies and Louw crossed for the home side on a night when the weather made flowing rugby challenging.

Wind wreaks havoc for both teams

It was apparent from the second minute that the wind was going to be a significant factor. Glasgow were playing into it in the first half and when George Horne’s early kick was held up his team-mates were caught offside.

Sale put the Warriors on the backfoot from the subsequent penalty and soon moved ahead. Having kicked for touch, their long lineout caught Glasgow out and van Rhyn was able to power over for the opening points. Rob du Preez converted.

The visitors had Zander Fagerson back for the first time since April but they were struggling to get any go-forward in the first quarter. Sale were winning turnovers and defending resolutely but it wasn’t without consequences. Rekeiti Ma'asi-White, their outside centre, came off second best when he tried to halt Sione Tuipulotu and had to limp off.

His replacement, Ollie Davies, turned 19 this week and helped himself to a belated birthday present by bagging Sale’s second try. It was created by Arron Reed, the Scotland international slipping away from attempted tackles by Scott Cummings and Ollie Smith before playing in the youthful Davies to score, with du Preez adding the extras.

At this point things were looking bleak for Franco Smith’s side. They’d barely fired a shot in the first 20 minutes and found themselves trailing 14-0 but they finished the half strongly with two tries in the final eight minutes to go in at the turn only 14-12 behind.

Hiddleston got the first from a classic Glasgow lineout move. Max Williamson plucked the ball from the ether and the Warriors’ driving maul was on point to allow the hooker to score. Hastings couldn’t convert from wide on the left and Glasgow were left to wonder whether they should have had a penalty try (and all seven points) as Nathan Jibulu attempted to pull down their maul.

The try seemed to galvanise the visitors who finished the half on top. With a minute remaining Darge made the pressure count, forcing himself over close to the posts. Hastings converted.

They took the momentum into the second half and took the lead for the first time in the 43rd minute. Steyn had an outstanding match and it was fitting that he got the score. Raffi Quirke saw his box-kick held up in the wind and Dempsey was first to the bouncing ball. He fed it to Steyn who ran through broken field for a superb third try for Glasgow which Hastings converted. Kudos too to Horne for a clever grubber in the buildup.

The Warriors were now swarming all over Sale and the bonus-point try came in the 55th minute, McDowall marking his centenary match by steaming through du Preez to cross after a lineout move. Hastings’ conversion made it 26-14 and the hosts must have been wondering what had hit them.

They did manage to regroup and reduced Glasgow’s lead to five points when Louw cleverly stepped his way over after a period of pressure. Du Preez converted but Glasgow defended the final minutes solidly to leave Sale with only a losing bonus point for consolation.

Teams and scorers

Scorers: Sale Sharks: Tries: van Rhyn, Davies, Louw. Cons: du Preez 3. Glasgow: Tries: Hiddleston, Darge, Steyn, McDowall. Cons: Hastings 3.

Sale Sharks: A Reed (G Warr 50); T O'Flaherty, R Ma'asi-White (O Davies 17min), M Louw, A Wills; R du Preez, R Quirke (G Wehr 62); S McIntyre (T Onasanya 48), N Jibulu (E Caine 51-62), W John (J Harper 48), T Burrow (H Andrews 50), B Bamber, J Vermeulen (B Curry 50), E van Rhyn, T Curry.

Glasgow Warriors: J McKay; K Steyn, S McDowall, S Tuipulotu, O Smith; A Hastings, G Horne (J Dobie ); N McBeth (R Sutherland 57), G Hiddleston (S Stephen 50), Z Fagerson (S Talakai 57), M Williamson (A Craig 58), S Cummings, M Fagerson (A Miller 78), R Darge (G Brown 57), J Dempsey. Replacement not used: 23. Dan Lancaster.

Referee: Pierre Brousset (Fra).