\n<\/p>\n
Glasgow Warriors:<\/strong> (21) 40<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n| Tries: <\/strong>McKay 2, McDowall 2, Afshar, Cordero <\/span>Cons:<\/strong> Thompson 4, Weir <\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Dragons:<\/strong> (0) 7<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Tries:<\/strong> Reed <\/span>Cons:<\/strong> O’Brien <\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n | Two tries in the first three minutes set Glasgow Warriors on their way to a bonus-point victory over Dragons in the United Rugby Championship.<\/span><\/p>\n Josh McKay raced over for the first try within 30 seconds and he was quickly followed by Stafford McDowall.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Ben Afshar added the third on his first professional start after the break. <\/span><\/p>\n Will Reed got the Welsh visitors on the scoreboard, but debutant Facundo Cordero and McDowall replied to secure a comfortable win.<\/span><\/p>\n It moves the hosts up to second place in the URC table, with Dragons second from bottom.<\/span><\/p>\n Making a lightning start at Scotstoun, full-back McKay took a high ball on the 40-metre line, wriggled through some bodies and side-stepped two Dragons players to cross, with Ross Thompson adding the first of his four conversions.<\/span><\/p>\n Franco Smith’s side soon got their second try after hooker Jonny Matthews won the ball from the Dragons’ line-out and centre McDowall charged through.<\/span><\/p>\n Despite a scrappy first half, Glasgow put the game beyond doubt just before the interval when McDowall broke the lines and passed outside for McKay to cross.<\/span><\/p>\n The bonus point was secured inside four minutes of the restart as Scotland Under-20 scrum-half Afshar kept up with play to take a pass and go over.<\/span><\/p>\n Lock Matthew Screech touched down at the other end, but Dan Lydiate was penalised for obstruction and the try was disallowed on video evidence.<\/span><\/p>\n Dragons eventually got some reward for sporadic spells of pressure when replacement full-back Reed wriggled over after taking a quick pass from Angus O’Brien, who added the conversion.<\/span><\/p>\n That only served to spark a strong finish from the home side and a slick move ended with Duncan Weir playing a long pass out to the right wing for former Exeter Chiefs back Cordero to go over.<\/span><\/p>\n McDowall capped an impressive display by crossing for the second time with five minutes left before Weir rounded off the scoring with his boot.<\/span><\/p>\n Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith:<\/strong> “I’m really happy with the win and I thought we played some good rugby at times. <\/span><\/p>\n “There were a lot of line breaks and opportunities missed, which is understandable – these guys haven’t played for quite a bit. Even the last three games, not everyone was involved, so they haven’t played since last year, but it’s good to have them putting their hands up for responsibility and I thought they did really good.”<\/span><\/p>\n Glasgow Warriors:<\/strong> McKay; Cordero, McDowall, Jordan, Dobie; Thompson, Afshar; Bhatti, Matthews, Sordoni, Williamson, Samuel, Ferrie, Gordon, Venter. <\/span><\/p>\n Replacements:<\/em> Weir for Thompson (58), McBeth for Bhatti (56), Fraser for Matthews (21), Kebble for Sordoni (56), Hart for Williamson (76), Manjezi for Samuel (56), Hiddleston for Gordon (62). Not Used: Kennedy. <\/span><\/p>\n Dragons:<\/strong> C Evans; J Rosser, Hughes, Owen, Andrew; O’Brien, Blacker; R Jones, Benjamin, Coleman, J Davies, Screech, Lonsdale, Young, Lydiate. <\/span><\/p>\n Replacements:<\/em> Reed for C Evans (16), Hope for Blacker (60), Seiuli for R Jones (45), Yendle for Coleman (58), Langton-Cryer for J Davies (61), Coghlan for Young (10), Scarfe for Lydiate (61). Not Used: Westwood. <\/span><\/p>\n |