Glasgow Warriors not on top form despite good start

Chris Fusaro feels Warriors now have a bit of momentum. Picture: SNS

Warriors defeated champions Leinster in a pulsating 22-20 opening day victory at Scotstoun and then dispatched Cardiff Blues in the Welsh capital 33-12, in a superb three-try display of counter-attacking rugby, to sit joint second in the early league placings.

But with a return trip to the Valleys on Saturday to face an obdurate Dragons side, who were one of only two teams to best Glasgow home and away last season, the Warriors’ openside admits that there is still plenty of room for improvement in the Scotstoun side’s game.

While Kingsley Jones’ men have lost both of their opening two forays against Connacht and the Ospreys, Fusaro has warned of the danger posed by the wounded Dragons.

“Obviously we are only two games into the season and while we are very happy to have beaten both Leinster and Cardiff, there is still a lot more to come from us,” admitted Fusaro.

He continued: “We felt like we did not quite click against Cardiff and there were areas we can and must improve on before we face the Dragons at Rodney Parade on Saturday.

“There was a period when our scrum creaked a bit in the second-half and Cardiff made it very hard in the breakdown for us, where it was as physical as I have experienced things for a long time. Obviously you have to factor in the 4G artificial surface, which was a bit tricky, particularly with the bounce of the ball, but we just feel like we have not found the fluidity we would like yet.

“Our ball security was not what we would have wanted, also when you have the three tries you’d obviously like to add a fourth to collect the bonus point, but we didn’t quite manage that.”

“That all said we are only two games in to the new campaign and we are very pleased to have the two victories to our names against sides of the calibre of Leinster and Cardiff.

“But we have plenty to work on this week before we return to Wales.”

All three of Glasgow’s tries were superb individual efforts starting with Sean Lamont stripping ball and then going on a typically barnstorming run to help take Glasgow in at the break on top.

But with Warriors reduced to ten men, following prop Gordy Reid’s 55th minute sin-bin, Fusaro was particularly pleased with a 10-0 points haul during his side’s reduction, Niko Matawalu’s brilliant touchline run turning the tide as the Blues looked to be getting on top.

Better was to come when replacement DTH van der Merwe’s right-wing rampage and deft pass set the mercurial Fijian free for his second try as Matawalu delivered a stunning coup de grace.

Fusaro believed this show of character in the face of numerical adversity and the myriad of attacking options available to Warriors were crucial.

“When we went down to 14 men Cardiff had the momentum and they also started to get on top in the scrum but we held firm and then Niko (Matawalu) has scored a fantastic breakaway try and we have come out of the period we were a man down in with a 10-0 advantage.

“For me that shows tremendous character but we also have so many attacking options that we are always going to be dangerous on the counter. With Niko and DTH coming on we know that we have the pace to hurt sides and our third try, with the way they combined, was probably the pick of the bunch.

“But what we have done is gone to Cardiff and built on the Leinster win and now we have a bit of momentum about us going to Rodney Parade this week”.

Meanwhile Glasgow head coach Gregor Townsend has admitted that hooker Pat McArthur may well be a doubt for Saturday’s trip after he suffered concussion against Cardiff.

McArthur was replaced by Fraser Brown early on after sustaining a head-knock and Townsend revealed: “Pat will be subject to the usual concussion protocols and with the quick turn-around that may affect his chances for the Dragons’ game.

“But I felt that Fraser Brown came on and delivered a very strong performance and he will have taken a lot of confidence from that.”