RaboDirect Pro 12: Glasgow beat Scarlets 17-12 to go back top
Unbeaten Glasgow went back to the top of the RaboDirect Pro 12 table with a hard-fought 17-12 victory over the Scarlets.
Last Updated: 05/10/13 9:29pm
The foundations of their fifth straight win were laid with two tries in the first 30 minutes through prop Ryan Grant and lock Tim Swinson.
Duncan Weir, in his first start of the season, added both conversions and a 62nd-minute penalty as the Warriors held on to win, despite second half yellow cards for Sean Lamont and wing Niko Matawalu.
Scarlets, who earned a losing bonus point, scored four penalty goals in the game - three for fly-half Rhys Priestland and one from wing Jordan Williams.
British and Irish Lions centre Jonathan Davies captained Scarlets for a second time, while Glasgow made 10 changes from the side that beat Zebre last week, including a first start of the campaign for Matawalu on the right wing.
The Warriors showed the confidence they have gained this season by scoring their first try after only two minutes.
They ignored the chance to kick a penalty in front of the posts with speedy Matawalu taking a tapped penalty resulting in Grant squeezing over for the try, converted by Weir.
Inconsistent
The inconsistent Scarlets continued to be on their guard to stop the elusive running of Matawalu.
But they settled into the game when they got on the scoreboard with a Priestland penalty on 17 minutes.
Scarlets also began getting the upper hand in the scrum but still had no answer to Glasgow's running game which saw lock Swinson muscling his way over for the second try 10 minutes before half-time.
More dominance at the scrum earned Scarlets a second Priestland penalty as they closed the gap to 14-6 just before the interval.
And Scarlets dominated the opening exchanges of the second half, earning a penalty within a minute of the restart which Priestland converted to cut the deficit to only five points.
The home side should have had a try three minutes later but wing Jordan Williams passed instead of going for the line himself.
Glasgow were not helped that wing Lamont was sin-binned before Williams closed the gap to two points with his 59th-minute penalty.
However, the Scottish outfit restored a five point lead via a penalty from Weir, who then missed an attempted a dropped goal, and while Matawalu was yellow carded late on, the Warriors held on to win.