Franco Smith says his side will not get “over-excited” despite delivering another strong performance to beat the Stormers 36-18 and seal progression to the next round, almost a year on from their quarter-final victory over the 2022 champions at Scotsoun.
Forced to stand their ground during a gruelling opening few minutes, Glasgow were forced to concede three as Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu opened the scoring, Smith praising the character his players showed.
“The boys showed a lot of heart tonight, especially with how we defended. That’s what got us through in the end. I am so proud of their effort because the Stormers put us under a lot of pressure at times.”
However the Warriors delivered where their guests on the night could not, converting entries into the twenty-two into tries with Rory Darge bursting through an Seabelo Senatla shaped hole from a line-out set-play, with the winger sin-binned just a minute earlier.
Again repelled, the Stormers would spend many transitions on their heels as Sione Tuipulotu put through a diagonal grubber on a dime for Kyle Rowe, who collected the bouncing ball in an almost leisurly manner.
An indiscipline which began to creep into the Warriors defence allowed the Stormers to narrow the gap back to eight points before an almost fluke try made it just one as box kick bounced fortuitously for Senatla to run in and dot down.
Responding in style, Henco Venter ensured his last start at Scotsoun would be a fruitful one, breaking after from a driving maul to crash over try line just before the half-hour mark to bring the score to 19-13.
Striking first after the break, Mannie Libbock delivered a patient and pinpoint pass to cut out the outnumbered Warriors defence, putting Senatla into space to glide in for the try.
Counting the cost of some poor tackling, which would finish on a mere 65%, the South African side struggled to stop Tom Jordan from ducking and dodging his way to the tryline before offloading to an in-stepping Rowe, who grabbed his brace.
Momentum on their side, Franco Smith’s side were in soon after as George Horne capped off an excellent evening from the tee to pull the score to 33-18 before his penalty gave the side an eighteen point lead and sealing a return to the semi-finals, by an almost identical margin to their 27-10 victory in 2024.
Smith however was keen to get carried away by the result.
“To win the competition is one thing. To stay at the top is really another thing completely. It’s difficult, but we are ready for the challenge heading into the semi-finals.”
They will face either Leinster or the Scarlets.
Line-ups:
Warriors: McKay, Rowe, McDowall, Tuipulotu, Steyn, Jordan, Horne, Bhatti, Hiddleston, Walker, Samuel, Cummings, Ferrie, Darge, Venter
Replacements: Matthews, McBeth, Talakai, Williamson, Mann, Duncan, Dobie, Hastings
Stormers: Gelant, Loader, Hartzenberg, du Plessis, Senatla, Mngomezulu, Ungerer, Vermaak, Venter, Fouche, Moerat, van Heerden, de Villiers, Theunissen, Roos
Replacements: Dweba, Matongo, Sandi, Schikerling, Evans, Nel, Jantjies, Libbok
