Johannesburg - The Glasgow Warriors and the Stormers dished up an entertaining United Rugby Championship clash on Sunday, one that oscillated between exciting play and physical confrontation which saw the visiting Cape outfit go down 24-17.
It was indeed a clash of styles, with Glasgow more willing to spread the ball to expose space in the wider channels, while the Stormers used their power game to stay in touch with their hosts.
As early as the eighth minute, an industrious Warriors attack cut the Stormers defence open, wing Sebastian Cancellerie and centre Huw Jones interlinking with pleasing play for the No 14 to cross the whitewash.
Cancellerie, in particular, was a handful throughout the encounter and kept the Stormers guessing with his beguiling pace and tricky runs. The Argentine seemed to threaten danger every time he was in possession, and his run late in the second half set Glasgow up to camp out in the visitors' red zone in the final five minutes and claim a beautiful victory.
The game certainly had an enjoyable to-and-fro from that opening try, the Stormers hitting back almost immediately after setting up an attacking maul. Springbok hooker Joseph Dweba peeled off of the movement and smashed his way through a hapless George Horne and supporting Kyle Steyn to open his team’s account on the scoreboard.
Down a man after the sanction of Lewis Bean, one would assume that the try would lead to a degree of Stormers supremacy, but then that attacking and free-flowing willingness of the hosts was exemplified in those 10 minutes.
Steyn would redeem his defence lapse by taking advantage of a fragmented Stormers defence and an overlap to restore the Warriors lead, defying the narrative of the extra man.
But once again, the Stormers bludgeoned their way forward, Clayton Blommentjies crossing the tryline to score the Cape-based side’s second try, wrestling away the lead 12-10 as the teams entered the shed for half-time.
The Stormers, admittedly, seemed somewhat tentative in the physical battle, while the usually solid Manie Libbok was just ever so slightly off in his accuracy and game-management.
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Glasgow would take advantage of those facts, especially at the breakdown. They contested the ruck fiercely, and won crucial turnover balls or disrupted the rhythm of the Stormers just enough to slow down their progression upfield.
It became a telling factor in the second half as the Franco Smith-inspired franchise started the final 40 minutes in a breathless display. Passing with intent, recycling with purpose and attacking the gainline at pace, the Warriors ran the defending champions ragged, Jones finishing off an impressive team effort to snatch a 17-12 lead.
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The Stormers' replacement Junior Pokomela would restore parity through the usual means of the pick and drive, scoring to equalise the scores 17-17, but it became apparent as the final quarter drew closer, that Glasgow were building in confidence and momentum.
And that would be the case as Cancelliere finished what he started in the final five minutes by diving over the tryline to secure an exhilarating victory for the Scottish outfit.
Scorers:
Glasgow Warriors (10) 24: Tries: Cancelliere (2), Steyn, Jones; Conversions: Horne (2)
Yellow Card: Bean.