Champions Cup
Glasgow Warriors 28 (21)
Tries: Smith, Steyn, Horne, Stephen Cons: Horne 3, Lancaster
Saracens 3 (3)
Pens: Farrell
Glasgow Warriors continued their fine form in the Investec Champions Cup with victory over Saracens to set up a home last-16 tie against the Bulls.
A dazzling first-half display saw Warriors roar into a 21-3 lead against their English visitors, with Ollie Smith, Kyle Steyn and George Horne crossing for tries.
Saracens enjoyed more territory and possession in the second half but were unable to find a way through a towering Glasgow defence.
Substitute Seb Stephen scored in the final play to seal the bonus point as the Scots made it four wins from four, and a maximum 20 points, in the pool stage.
They have now secured home advantage for a potential route all the way to the semi-finals, while Saracens face a trip to Bath in the next round.
Knowing a win would guarantee a top-two seeding for Glasgow, the atmosphere inside Scotstoun was raucous and the home side had their fans off their seats inside 10 minutes.
Alex Craig sold a dummy inside his own half and set off on a galloping run. He was halted, but Zander Fagerson took up the baton with a thunderous carry and, when the ball was slung wide, sharp hands put Smith through a gap to score.
The visitors were indebted to Lucio Cinti, whose interception near the Sarries line prevented Huw Jones from going in under the sticks from a line-out move.
Warriors were well on top and after a brilliant chip-and-chase from George Horne, Juan Martin Gonzalez was shown a yellow card for cynically stopping the attack near his own line.
Saracens’ tryline defence was heroic, but Glasgow kept banging at the door and a smart inside ball from Horne fed Steyn coming in on a terrific line to slice through and go in under the posts.
The traffic was one-way and Jack Dempsey powered through two tackles and set Horne free for a run to the line to dot down on his 150th Glasgow appearance.
Sarries finally made some serious inroads into Glasgow territory and Elliot Daly took them to the brink of the tryline, but some titanic defence kept the Prem side out and ensured Warriors preserved their 18-point lead at the break.
The visitors emerged with greater purpose in the second half and began to take the fight to Glasgow who – despite losing Kyle Rowe to the sin-bin for a clumsy high tackle on Rotimi Segun – remained resolute in defence.
A brilliant break from Steyn got Warriors on the front foot again and Smith made a dive for the line looking for the fourth try, but lost the ball in the act of grounding.
Stephen ensured the bonus point did arrive in the final play when he finished off a powerful rolling maul to a mighty roar from the Scotstoun crowd.
It has been a flawless Champions Cup campaign so far for Franco Smith’s side, and the sense they can do something special in this competition continues to grow.
