Glasgow Warriors have booked their place in the United Rugby Championship semi-finals after beating the Stormers 27-10 in a tense match at Scotstoun Stadium.
Franco Smith’s team led 6-0 at the break thanks to two penalty kicks from Man of the Match George Horn, after Manny Reboc missed both of his shots on goal.
Ben Loader and Paul de Wet scored tries for the Stormers, but an inaccurate tee shot by Reebok meant they missed both conversions and the match ended with them failing to score any tries.
Glasgow scored in the second half through goals from Sebastian Cancelliere, Henko Venter and Ross Thompson, with Horne scoring all three to secure a 27-10 victory and a place in the semi-finals to face defending champions Munster.
Meanwhile, Leinster travel to South Africa to take on the Bulls in the second leg of the URC semi-final.
Scorers click here
Glasgow, bidding to win their first title since 2015, took the lead with the first real attack of either team. Their forwards took a Stormers lineout and fed the ball through multiple hands before finding Cancelliere on the opposite wing.
The Argentine winger waited to draw his man before passing inside to Horn, who fumbled the pass and flicked the ball away just in front of the goal line.
The Stormers also had the majority of possession and after Zander Fagerson was penalised by the referee for putting his hands on the floor, he opted to kick towards the post, which was a difficult one for Reebok with the wind blowing and his shot went wide of the post.
The Warriors rarely kick at the goalposts but opted to go for the three points they could get if the Stormers were fouled, and Horne kicked straight in to atone for his earlier mistake.
Stormers player ratings: Manny Reebok’s filly, while Springbok prospect shines despite URC defeat
There was an uneasy moment for Steyn as Glasgow captain Kyle Steyn was hit on the arm as he contested a high kick with Stormers fullback Warrick Geraint. The TMO and the referee consulted and decided a penalty was enough as Reebok had again failed to tee it off.
When the home team were then awarded a scrum penalty, they again aimed for the posts rather than a corner and Horn was no mistake in doubling his team’s lead.
The Stormers’ position was made worse in the second half when captain Salmaan Moerat was replaced with a yellow card after a clash of heads with Warriors substitute Nathan McBeth, but even down a man the visitors maintained their advantage and were rewarded with the first try of the match.
It was a great move. Geraint passed to Sasha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who passed it to Ben Roeder, who scored in the corner. The Reeboks couldn’t add to their lead from the outside.
It briefly stunned the home crowd, but they soon scored and celebrated.
The Stormers misfired the kick-off, the ball went to Sione Tuipulotu and a brilliant run from the Scotland centre set up Cancelliere to score before Horne rounded off the goal.
The game was coming to life at this point and the Stormers grabbed a new lifeline when De Wet made a dummy pass and charged in from close range.
However, Ribbok again missed the conversion from directly in front of the goalpost, and the Warriors’ second try of the game decided the match.
After a series of pick-and-gos, Venter dived and then Thompson dived just before the final whistle to cap off his 50th appearance and score.
Glasgow Warriors player ratings: Zander Fagerson’s ‘spectacular’ counter ruck sums up a physical pack performance with General George Horne taking centre stage
Glasgow Warriors v Stormers
Glasgow: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Sebastian Cancellier, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Kyle Steyn (captain), 10 Tom Jordan, 9 George Horne, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Matt Ferguson, 5 Richie Gray, 4 Scott Cummings, 3 Zander Ferguson, 2 Jonny Matthews, 1 Jamie Batty
replacement: 16 George Turner, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Oli Kebble, 19 Max Williamson, 20 Euan Ferry, 21 Henko Venter, 22 Jamie Dobby, 23 Ross Thompson
Stormers: 15 Warrick Geraint, 14 Souleymane Herzenberg, 13 Dan du Plessis, 12 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 11 Ben Loader, 10 Manny Riboc, 9 Herschel Gentise, 8 Haciba Diyimani, 7 Ben Jason-Dixon, 6 Willy Engelbrecht, 5 Ruben van Helden, 4 Salmaan Mourat (c), 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Brock Harris
replacement: 16 Andre-Hugo Vantha, 17 Sti Cithole, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 Adre Smith, 20 Marcel Theunissen, 21 Connor Evans, 22 Paul de Wet, 23 Jean-Luc du Plessis
Judge: Chris Busby (Ireland)
Assistant Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland), Peter Martin (Ireland)
TMO: Mark Patton (Ireland)
read more: Dates and kick-off times confirmed for United Rugby Championship semi-finals
