Glasgow Warriors reaction: 'Heart got us through' as Venter and Darge are hailed

On a night when Glasgow Warriors’ big players turned in big performances, Franco Smith praised the spirit of his team as they defeated the Stormers 36-18 in the United Rugby Championship quarter-finals.

The defending champions had to dig deep to pull away in the early part of the second half against their South African opponents in a repeat of last season’s last-eight tie.

Glasgow won that one 27-10 before going on beat Munster in the semis and then the Bulls in the final. This year, they will face either Leinster or Scarlets in the last four next weekend.

Glasgow Warriors' Henco Venter celebrates scoring his side's third try against the Stormers. | SNS Group

“It was knockout rugby, we expected it to be tight till the end,” said Smith, the Warriors head coach. “That’s what you prepare for, anything can happen.

“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 Stormers put us under a lot of pressure at times.”

Glasgow led 19-13 at half-time through tries from Rory Darge, Kyle Rowe and Henco Venter, with George Horne converting two of them. The Stormers countered with a try from Seabelo Senatla, the winger who had been yellow-carded in the early stages, and two penalties and a conversion from Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.

Senatla then scored his second try early in the second half to pull the South Africans back to within a point but Feinberg-Mngomezulu couldn’t land the conversion.

Glasgow stepped up the pace and two tries in six minutes, from Rowe and Horne, moved them clear. Horne added a penalty to make it 36-18 and Smith praised his experienced players for

Rory Darge goes through to score his Glasgow's first try. | SNS Group

“Kyle Rowe was really good, he has something a little bit different,” said the coach. “All of the boys really played well and I feel we deserved to win.

“It’s a long season. Especially when you consider the Champions Cup as well, there are so many high-level matches.

“There were a lot of positive for us. Henco Venter and Rory Darge were excellent. Scott Cummings got 80 minutes under his belt, Sione Tuipulotu brought a spark for us.

“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.

“We are not getting over-excited by anything. The mission is still to go on and try to win the semi-final next weekend.”

Glasgow will play in Dublin if Leinster win Saturday’s quarter-final but they will be at Scotstoun if the Scarlets pull off an upset.