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Daily Mail
a day ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Townsend praises defensive effort as Scotland hang on to beat Maori All Blacks 29-26 in tour opener
Maori All Blacks 26 Scotland 29 GREGOR TOWNSEND praised a huge defensive effort from his players as Scotland held firm to beat the Maori All Blacks in a thrilling contest in Whangarei. Scotland led 29-12 at one point during the second half and looked good value to go on and secure a commanding victory. But, with both teams throwing the ball around and playing some excellent attacking rugby, the Maori All Blacks fought back to tee-up a nail-biting finale. They went through 27 phases right at the death as the clock went deep into overtime, pummelling away at Scotland's defensive line. But the visitors held firm to secure a first-ever win over the Māoris, ensuring that their summer tour started in a positive fashion. 'It would have been devastating to lose at the end having led for so long, so we're glad we saw it through. The defence was excellent,' said Scotland head coach Townsend. 'The Maori put us under a lot of pressure at the end and really came back at us, but we found a way to win. 'Jamie Dobie and Fergus Burke were massive for us at the end and really helped us win the turnover to shift the momentum. 'I was so proud of the effort, especially at the end of the game. The players showed what playing for Scotland means to them. 'We knew it would be tough. The Maori All Blacks have a good record against international teams, especially at home. 'The players don't officially win a cap, but that was a Test match in terms of the quality and physicality we faced. 'The Maori are a quality side and we decided to put a team out that wasn't as experienced, knowing it'll be a great development and learning experience for them.' Scotland will now head off to face Fiji in Suva next weekend, before returning to New Zealand to face Samoa in Auckland. 'We know next week will be an even tougher test,' added Townsend. 'We are playing a Fiji team who have some outstanding individuals and are ranked in the top 10 in the world. 'We will make some changes to the team next week, but this was a good win that sets us up nicely for the next two games.' Stafford McDowall captained Scotland against the Māoris and had a fine game in the centre alongside Rory Hutchinson. Indeed, all of Scotland's backline played well, with Ollie Smith also impressing at full-back on his first Scotland appearance since the 2023 World Cup. McDowall believes this was a game that Scotland could well have lost in the past, but praised the resilience and mental fortitude of the team to dig in and get the win. 'That was two teams just chucking everything at each other for 80 minutes,' he said. 'I'm so proud of the boys for the defensive shift towards the end against a really good team. 'We spoke at half-time about putting ourselves in a good position, but we knew the Māoris were going to come back at us. 'We probably lost control a little bit for 15 or 20 minutes and they managed to score a couple of tries. 'In the past, we might have lost that game. But I'm proud of how we were able to dig in and get the win. 'This was an opportunity to launch the tour with a good start and thankfully we were able to do that.'
Scotsman
07-06-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
Glasgow Warriors' URC title defence buried in Scottish graveyard as relentless Leinster march into final
Argy-bargy at the Aviva as Warriors comprehensively beaten Sign up to our Rugby Union newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... No Scottish team has won at the Aviva and this impressive arena continues to be a graveyard for tartan travellers who come to Dublin more in hope than expectation. Glasgow Warriors have experienced their own particular horror stories at the stadium and added a fresh chapter on Saturday as their reign as kings of the United Rugby Championship came to an end. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Leinster pummelled them into submission, winning this semi-final 37-19, and they will now host the final next weekend at Croke Park. Glasgow Warriors suffered their third defeat of the season at the Aviva Stadium to relinquish their URC crown as Leinster claimed a 37-19 semi-final victory. (Photo by) | Getty Images Glasgow were comprehensively beaten and a couple of late converted scores from Jamie Dobie and Sione Tuipulotu made the scoreline less grizzly than it could have been. Leinster won the game in the first half, punishing every small error made by the visitors and playing with a relentlessness that was hard to live with. Their kicking game was excellent and in James Lowe they had a player who dominated the aerial battle. They seemed able to pick off their opponents at will, making a mockery of claims that they are a team on the slide. They scored six tries in total, four of them in the first half, and the margin of victory would have been far greater had stand-off Sam Prendergast been more accurate off the tee. Dan Sheehan and Jamie Osborne, with two tries apiece, did the bulk of the damage and there were also scores from Thomas Clarkson and replacement Ciaran Frawley as the boys in blue swept Glasgow away in the Dublin rain. George Horne scored a well-worked try after five minutes to keep the Warriors in touch but things went awry soon after. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad This was the third time Leinster had beaten Glasgow at the Aviva this season and the aggregate score stands at 102-24. It wasn't as bad as the 52-0 game in the Champions Cup in April but there were times you feared it might be. The Warriors came with hopes that their creative trio of Tuipulotu, Tom Jordan and Adam Hastings could ask questions of Leinster but the hosts were physically outstanding and snuffed out most of the threat. It was a final bow in a Glasgow jersey for Henco Venter, Jordan and Jack Mann but they couldn't go out on a high. Worst possible start It started badly for the champions and got progressively worse. Venter took the Leinster kick-off but was quickly isolated and conceded a penalty. There were only 18 seconds on the clock and the first try quickly followed. Leinster built the phases, hammering away at the Glasgow defence until the outstanding Jamison Gibson-Park flipped it out to Sheehan to score the first of his two first-half tries. The acrid smell of the pre-match pyro was still in the air as Prendergast slotted the conversion. The game would run away from the visitors in the final 15 minutes of the half but their initial response was impressive and they scored a fine try through Horne. Tuipulotu's sharp flat pass found Josh McKay and he played in Kyle Rowe haring down the left. The winger's chip inside was perfectly judged for Horne to run on to and no-one was catching him. The scrum-half was off target with the conversion. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Unsurprisingly, it was a full-blooded affair and things spilled over at times. When Scott Penny had a 'try' disallowed for crossing by James Lowe, the Leinster winger took out his frustration on Scott Cummings, shoving him to the ground and sparking an all-in melee. A few minutes later, referee Andrea Piardi felt compelled to speak to both captains after another flashpoint. Amid the argy-bargy, Prendergast was pushing and probing with his kicking game. He also landed a penalty to push the hosts 10-5 ahead at the midway point of the half and things unravelled for the visitors thereafter. Jordan couldn't hold on to a no-look pass from Tuipulotu and Leinster capitalised. Osborne thought he'd scored but Gibson-Park's pass to the centre had been forward and the score was chalked off. Osborne was not to be denied, though. Two minutes later he took receipt off Lowe's one-handed offload and hared down the left wing to score - and there was nothing wrong with this one. Relentless Leinster That made it 15-5 and Leinster would add two more tries before the half was out. They both originated at the lineout and relied on brawn. Clarkson was just far too strong as he barged his way past Fin Richardson, Horne and Euan Ferrie. And then Sheehan was at the back of a lineout maul to score his second of the afternoon. The only saving grace for Glasgow was that Prendergast was off target with both pots at goal and Leinster went in at the turn 25-5 ahead. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Jordie Barrett came close to adding a fifth Leinster try in the early stages of the second half but the home fans in the sparsely populated Aviva didn't have long to wait. They hammered away at the Glasgow defence before the imperious Gibson-Park picked out Osborne who scored his second. Prendergast, who had struck the post with a straightforward penalty moments earlier, converted this one. It was gruelling for Glasgow in the face of relentless opponents. The home side were fortified by their bench and one of the replacements, Frawley, plundered try number six. Lowe, a menace throughout, won an aerial duel with Kyle Steyn to put Leinster on the attack, Tommy O'Brien made headway down the right before finding Frawley who finished gratefully.
BBC News
02-03-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'I've never seen Warriors miss so many tackles'
Glasgow fans, we asked you for your opinions on the gut-wrenching 31-32 loss to Ospreys at Scotstoun on Saturday a taste of what you had to say: Abigail: Tough way to lose a game. Ospreys deserved winners - frightened Glasgow and forced them to defend as well as some stunning tries. Inexperience and lack of game time showed. Not having Jamie Dobie or George Horne released is frustrating. Hopefully lessons learned and we go The Warriors threw that game away after all the effort they'd put in to battle back at the end. By the time we'd woken up, Ospreys were three tries to the good. Then, every time we fought back, we lost concentration and allowed them back in. How we didn't manage to see the game out at the end is a mystery to me. The last 30 seconds were daft!Chris: Injuries really biting now. Players playing out of position starting to show. I heard Ryan Wilson say Henco Venter is away at end of season. If true and Jack Mann follows, Gregor Brown and Euan Ferrie will be getting more game time which is good. Wonder who the crop behind them will be?Alastair: I've never seen Warriors miss so many tackles which, on top of penalties conceded, was their downfall. As good as the second choice players are, they are not a cohesive team. There was an improvement in physicality when the bench forwards came on but Warriors had to work hard for their tries unlike Ospreys who, in the end, deserved the Inexperience, lack of game time, failing to watch the clock properly, and maybe a player or two who are over the hill in terms of their careers. Hopefully this loss refocuses Glasgow and we can push on and do something this Fair play to Ospreys - we have to recognise that despite Glasgow getting into a winning position before conceding a needless penalty, they were the better team. Glasgow have picked up 11 points from three games in the Six Nations period. Hopefully some internationals will be available for the Munster game. We're still well positioned. Onwards.
