'We are not panicking': Glasgow Warriors vow to improve for Stormers test after defeat at Connacht

Glasgow Warriors centre Stafford McDowall says they will need to show a big improvement if they are to oust high-flying Stormers next weekend at Scotstoun.

He said the manner in which they slipped away at the Sportsground after the break, losing 34-26 to Connacht, having led 19-14 thanks to touchdowns from Kyle Rowe and Tom Jordan and a penalty try, cost them the game.

“The crucial part of the game was 40-60 minutes,” McDowall said. “We just didn’t come out firing like we did at the end of the first-half and to be fair to Connacht they took the game by the scruff of the neck and that’s probably where the winning of it was done,” said the 25-year old who make his Scottish debut against Italy in July.

Connacht bossed the second-half with winger Diarmuid Kilgallen getting his second try and hooker Dylan Tierney-Martin also scoring, but Warriors fought back and got a late bonus point when replacement Jamie Dobie got over after a multi-phase barrage.

Connacht's Diarmuid Kilgallen dives to score the opening try despite Huw Jones of Glasgow Warriors. Pic: Ben Brady/INPHO/Shutterstock

“We are proud of the fight we showed at the end and we didn’t give it up and managed to that point at the end,” added McDowall “At that point we could easily have packed it in and could have got a second point as well. We are disappointed but we will come back. It wasn’t our best performance but we are not panicking. There were parts of that game we were not at the races and when they turn the screw they really turned the screw and the crowd gets going.”

Now the focus switches to the Stormers who have secured two bonus point wins and McDowall says they know what to expect. “We had a tough game against them at home last year and we expect a big, physical challenge again but one we will front up for,” he added.