PRO12 champions Connacht crushed by Glasgow Warriors
By Tony Tighe
Last Updated: 04/09/16 9:50am
Connacht's defence of their Guinness PRO12 title got off to a dismal start as 2015 champions Glasgow cantered to an emphatic 41-5 victory in Galway.
The Irish province claimed back-to-back wins over the Warriors last May to reach the PRO12 final but any hopes of a repeat were quickly put to bed as they were cut to shreds by Gregor Townsend's men.
The Glasgow back three were in devastating form with man of the match Stuart Hogg teeing up Tommy Seymour for two first-half tries before getting on the scoresheet himself after the interval, while Italy wing Leonardo Sarto also impressed on his debut.
Tim Swinson, Sila Puafisi and Sean Lamont also touched down in the second period as Glasgow strolled to victory, with winger Niyi Adeolokun grabbing Connacht's sole score.
Glasgow played into a strong wind during the first half but made a bright start and opened the scoring after 10 minutes.
Good work by the Warriors forwards saw Peter Horne and Hogg combine to put Seymour over in the corner for an unconverted try.
After a subdued opening quarter, Connacht burst into life on 22 minutes when a good pass from the returning Eoin Griffin released Bundee Aki, but he took contact instead of releasing Cian Kelleher down the wing for what looked a certain try.
Henry Pyrgos extended Glasgow's lead on 25 minutes but they were reduced to 14 men moments later when Ryan Wilson was fortunate to only receive a yellow card for a late tackle on Jack Carty.
Connacht capitalised on their numerical advantage as great hands from props Denis Buckley and Finlay Bealham saw the ball worked out wide to Griffin, and Adeolokun held off Pyrgos to score.
However, Glasgow quickly responded with Hogg again turning provider for Seymour. The Scotland full-back drew two Connacht defenders before finding his winger, who stepped inside Kelleher to give the visitors a 13-5 lead at the break.
Glasgow picked up where they left off after the restart with Sarto held up over the line, but they bagged their third try on 45 minutes when a training ground move cut Connacht open.
Pyrgos received possession at a scrum and passed to half-back partner Peter Horne, and after a decoy run from Sam Johnson fixed the Connacht defence, Hogg darted between Griffin and Matt Healy to score the try his performance deserved.
The bonus point was secured on 52 minutes when further fine attacking play from the Glasgow back three resulted in lock Swinson diving over from close range, and Pyrgos converted to give his side a 27-5 lead.
Puafisi scored a similar effort six minutes later, the prop touching down to help banish the memories of his red card at the Sportsground last May, and fellow replacement Lamont also crossed on his 100th appearance as Glasgow lay down an impressive early marker.
