Tuipulotu’s power is too much for Cardiff
Cardiff ……………..36pts Glasgow …………..52pts
Tries: D Thomas 12, Winnett 20, Byrne 47, Martin 53, Donnell 68
Conversions: Sheedy 13, De Beer 48, 54, 69
Penalty: De Beer 60
Tries: Dobie 6, Rowe 22, 71; Jordan 30, 75; Tuipulotu 35, Jones 38, Fagerson 63
Conversions: Jordan 7, 31, 36, 39, 64; Weir 72
SCOTLAND star Si-one Tuipulotu has been hailed as one of the best three 12s in the world following his player of the match display in this 13-try rollercoaster at the Arms Park.
The Glasgow skipper crossed for a superb solo score and was a constant menace with his pace and power as the URC champions finally overcame Cardiff ‘s stubborn resistance.
There were eight touchdowns from the visitors in all as they exposed some fragile defence, with wing Kyle Rowe and 20-point fly-half Tom Jordan both grabbing a brace, while their Welsh hosts picked up a try bonus point. mance, Glasgow coach Franco Smith said: “Sione is playing some really good rugby. He works really hard, he’s a good team man and he wears his heart on his sleeve. I am glad for him that he is on a roll and he’s getting better.”
Cardiff coach Matt Sherratt said: “Tuipulotu has done that in big international games. He is probably one of the top three 12s in world rugby at the moment.”
As for the game as a whole, Smith likened it to a Super Rugby match, while Sherratt dubbed it a “helter skelter rollercoaster”.
It was an even affair for the opening half hour amid two touchdowns apiece, but then the visitors produced a three-try blitz in the space of eight minutes, with centre Tuipulotu’s individual effort the pick of the bunch as he bumped off Callum Sheedy, went outside Cam Winnett and cut inside Harri Millard to reach the line.
Trailing 31-12 at the break, Cardiff responded with replacement prop Ed Byrne diving over after sustained pressure and fellow sub Mackenzie Martin crossing following an arcing break from Mason Grady. But back rower Martin then left the field with the hosts having to lose a player because of the game going to uncontested scrums due to hookers Evan Lloyd and Liam Belcher both going off injured.
That saw No.8 Alun Lawrence moving into the middle of the front row and throwing in at the lineout, a job he did well, hitting his target to pave the way for a try from flanker Ben Donnell.
Despite being down to 14 men, Cardiff twice managed to reduce the deficit to four points, but Glasgow made the game safe as Rowe and Jordan claimed their second tries, with 27 missed tackles from the hosts being the night’s key stat.
MCARD v GLAS 8 Penalties conceded 8 9 Lineouts won 10 1 Lineouts lost 2 3 Scrums won 4 0 Scrums lost 2 0 Sin bin 0
TEAMS
CARDIFF: Winnett 6, Grady 7, Lee-Lo 5 (Hamer-Webb 31-41, 5), B Thomas 7, Millard 5 (Hamer-Webb 62, 5); Sheedy 5 (De Beer 41, 6), Davies 6 (Bevan 41, 6), Domachowski 7 (Byrne 41, 6), Belcher 6 (Lloyd 41, 5; Martin 51-55, 6), Assiratti 7 (Litterick 41, 5), McNally 6 (Thornton 64, 5), Williams 7, Donnell 6, D Thomas 6 (Martin 64, 6), Lawrence 6 GLASGOW: REFEREE: ATTENDANCE: McKay 7, Rowe 8, Jones 7, Tuipulotu 9 (Weir 69, 6), Cordero 6 (Afshar 60, 6), Jordan 8, Dobie 7; Sutherland 6 (Bhatti 48, 6), Matthews 7 (Hiddleston 59, 6), Talakai 6 (Schickerling 48, 6), Samuel 6 (Gray 48, 6), Cummings 7 (Willamson 69, 6), Brown 6 (Ferrie 56, 6), Fagerson 7, Dempsey 8 Morne Ferreira 6,237
Star player Sione Tuipulotu -GlasgowATCH STATS…
