Warriors out-wrestled by Bulls on challenging night

In many ways the most difficult task was never going to be the physical one, despite the presence of a visiting Bulls side with plenty of muscle and then some.

No, the reality was that the battle was very much a mental one, for the Glasgow Warriors must wrestle with an existential crisis far bigger than any Bulls second-row.

It is unavoidable, regardless of what the players or Franco Smith might say, that the damage caused by that 52-0 hammering at the hands of Leinster will leave an indelible trace on the psyche of the Warriors. 

Something has changed. Where once there was a feeling that the gap was narrowing, there remains no doubt that the gulf between themselves and the likes of Leinster, Bordeaux and Toulouse will be too great lest the financial bridge is narrowed.

In the end the reality is that money talks, and its message is clear as day, the Warriors will not get any closer to their European dream if the budget does not.

That is what the Warriors wrestled with as side full weight of a compliment of South African internationals bore down on them, including World Cup winner Moody starting and Le Roux waiting to make an impact from the bench.

If there were any doubts present however, they would only be found in the recesses of the minds of the hosts as Sebastian Cancelliere bundled over the line only to be denied by a last gasp tackle from Jan-Hendrik Wessels.

Despite an early foray into the Warriors 22, the visitors were hemmed in their own half, exit plans stunted by inaccuracies as boot met ball but the Bulls would draw first blood regardless. Johan Goosen nailing his first of three penalties in the first-half, like an archer firing from the walls of besieged castle, pinpoint with each shot.

This was the man who had done the sporting equivalent of faking your own death, retiring in 2016 to avoid playing for Racing 92 before re-emerging two years later and winning the Challenge Cup with Montpellier.

But for all Sugarman’s precision, the Warriors were in no mood to respond in kind. Twice they were offered the tee, twice they went for the corner. The first attempt pointless in more ways than one.

The second would bear seven healthy points as Stafford McDowall’s lofted ball fizzed over a Bulls blitz defence and find the welcoming hands of early replacement Jamie Dobie before George Horne would add the afters, taking full advantage of a Wilco Louw trip to the bin for a shoulder contact with the head of one unfortunate Patrick Schickerling.

Going into the break 9-7 down, there was a feeling that this Bulls defence remained a tightly packed puzzle, just one move to open everything up. They pulled and prised but it was the Warriors who started to come unstuck, Johan Grobbelaar and company powering over (52′) before Goosen’s conversion and penalty four minutes later would take his side twelve clear.

Handling errors played their parts, stifling Smith’s side as they looked to thread a camel through the eye of needle, the Bulls defence standing compact and resolute. Desperation seeping in, ideas running out and decisions reflecting a growing desperation as Tom Jordan’s kick left space in the backline for David Kriel to finish a rapid counter to distance themselves to 26-7 (61′).

Leinster may have been playing on the minds of the home side, but for their opponents this was a chance to unleash vengeance on the Warriors team that had beaten them in the URC final almost one year ago. Although Jake White denied any such sentiment, the brutality with which each hit stole the breath from one Glasgow player after another could not hide it.

Yet as the game seemed to have been wrapped up, a late double salvo from captain Kyle Steyn and McDowall showed that the Warriors would not go down without a fight as Horne’s conversion brought them back to 19-26.

It wouldn’t be enough and defeat on the night against arguably their closest contenders for the ‘best of the rest’ belt is by no means a death knell for their season, the URC title in their cabinet will attest to that. However it does leave the Warriors in need of a little soul searching after a night in which the scars of an arduous season were on display for all to see.

Perhaps that can wait until the summer. After all, there is still a title to retain.

Glasgow Warriors: Smith, Cancelliere, Steyn, McDowall, Rowe, Jordan, Horne; McBeth, Hiddleston, Schickerling, Williamson, Samuel, Brown, Darge, Mann

Replacements: Matthews, Bhatti, Talakai, Cummings, Ferrie, Vailanu, Dobie, Hastings

Bulls: Williams, Moodie, Kriel, Vorster, de Klerk, Goosen, Papier; Wessels, Grobbelaar, Louw, Wiese, van Heerden, Kirsten, Nortje, van Staden

Replacements: van der Merwe, Matanzima, Smith, Jacobs, Coetzee, Johannes, Le Roux, Gans

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