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Franco Smith praised Glasgow Warriors’ tenacity on a night when they had to fight tooth and nail to beat a physical Bulls side at Scotstoun. The hosts came from behind in the second half to win 21-12, a result that moved them to the top of the United Rugby Championship standings ahead of the weekend fixtures. Sione Tuipulotu and Nathan McBeth each scored either side of a penalty try for the Warriors, with Stravino Jacobs and Willie le Roux replying for the South Africans. Adam Hastings, the Glasgow stand-off, landed both of his conversions to reach the 500-point mark across his two spells at the club. “I thought the Bulls were very physical,” said Smith, the Warriors head coach. “They defended well. They deprived us. Like I said to the players, we asked a lot of questions and they had a lot of answers, especially in the first half. But our tenacity to stay in the fight and wait for the changes and to stick to the strategy of the game was very good. “The way the process worked was heartwarming. I’m proud of the fight the players showed and the belief and the continuity in what the strategy was.” Tuipulotu and Jacobs exchanged early tries and Glasgow went in at the turn 7-5 ahead. They replaced their props, Murphy Walker and Jamie Bhatti, either side of the interval, bringing on Sam Talakai and McBeth. “Jamie Bhatti and Murphy, they were both coming back from injury,” explained Smith. “Bhatti only featured in our first game [this season]. I decided to start them so that they are well-focused and well-prepared during the week. It was always a plan to just play them for 40 minutes, like I've shown in other games. “When [Murphy] struggled a little bit with his shoulder, I didn't want to aggravate it and therefore subbed him just before half-time.” McBeth, the replacement loosehead, had an eventful second half. He was sin-binned shortly after coming on and then scored Glasgow’s final try with 10 minutes remaining. The Bulls, who beat Glasgow at Scotstoun in April, moved ahead early in the second half through le Roux’s try and looked to have scored again shortly after through Kurt-Lee Arendse. However, the replacement wing had the try chalked off for a knock-on in the build-up. “I was convinced it was going to be disallowed because I felt the ball had been ripped from Gregor Brown’s hands whilst his knee was on the floor,” said Smith. “I thought that was going to be a penalty in our favour. Therefore, I was actually quite relaxed about it and didn't even see the knock-on. Then the coaching group showed me the knock-on as well. “So I was sure it wasn't a try. We actually stopped playing a little bit as we thought everybody saw the knock-on. People would think that was a big moment, but we weren't going to change the way we play anyway after that moment, regardless of whether that try was scored or not.” Nevertheless, the decision seemed to re-energise Glasgow and they scored through a penalty try soon after, an award that also saw Francois Klopper sent to the sin-bin. It was Glasgow’s last game before the international break and the result means they have won four of their first five fixtures, with the only defeat coming against Benetton in Italy. Eighteen of their players will now join up with Scotland for the autumn internationals with Smith hoping to give the others in his squad time to recover. Euan Ferrie, the Glasgow forward, had to withdraw from the game before kick-off due to an ankle injury. He was replaced on the bench by Macenzzie Duncan. Glasgow’s next game is away to the Scarlets on November 29.
