| Five-Try Blues Make It Three Wins On The Trot |
Cardiff Blues |
32 - 16 |
Glasgow Warriors |
| Arms Park Att: 5,425 |
| Friday 21st September 2007, 18:10 |
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| Another polished performance from the Cardiff Blues saw them maintain their 100% start to the new Magners League campaign on Friday night as the table toppers outscored Glasgow Warriors by five tries to one at the Arms Park. |
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| Cardiff's Robert Sidoli stretches for the try line during his side's third straight win of the new league season |
| © Huw Evans Agency |
The Blues stretched their impressive league record to 17 successive home wins, with tries from Gareth Williams, Jamie Roberts (2), Nick Macleod and Tal Selley doing the damage against the Scots.
It was not all plain sailing for David Young's side but they got off to a satisfying start and led 15-3 after 34 minutes. After Colin Gregor had booted a third-minute penalty for Glasgow, the Blues began making inroads in attack and hooker Gareth Williams was driven over the whitewash nine minutes later. Nick Robinson missed the conversion in windy conditions.
Scrum half Richie Rees had made the initial break for the try and he continued to be a threat around the fringes, although the Blues had to wait until the 33rd-minute to add to their tally as the game suddenly became scrappy.
Neither side could grasp control during this spell and Glasgow were left the more frustrated as they missed out on a good try-scoring chance. Richie Vernon succeeded in charging down a Robinson kick but agonisingly he could not ground the ball as it bounced awkwardly away from both him and former All Black Daryl Gibson.
Glasgow were then left a man short when full-back Bernardo Stortoni was sent to the sin bin for a high tackle on Rhys Williams and Robinson cracked over the resulting penalty from distance to edge the Blues 8-3 in front.
It got even better for the hosts moments later when Robinson's grubber kick, after a break from Williams, was latched onto by Roberts for his first try of the game.
Robinson converted before the Warriors, who included six newcomers, kept in touch with two late penalties from the accurate Gregor.
15-9 down at the interval, Glasgow were still in with a shout but two tries from the Blues in the space of five minutes put the early season pace-setters 18 points clear.
Breaking through three tacklers, the 20-year-old Roberts created the opening for full-back Macleod to grab a quick seven-pointer and the former then doubled his try count for the night by barging up the touchline for a fine 45th-minute score, which Robinson failed to convert.
With the bonus point in the bag, the Blues predictably fell off their game and Glasgow, despite suffering the disruption of having to replace their two starting props and replacement Ed Kalman due to injury, battled on to score a deserved try in the 60th-minute.
It was a superb effort from replacement lock James Eddie who raced in under the posts from all of halfway to cap off a great individual try, with Gregor converting.
The game had a disjointed finish with two sin-binnings for Blues players - Robert Sidoli was carded for dangerously pulling Alastair Kellock down at a lineout, and Tal Selley was sent to the line for obstruction.
Centre Selley managed to score the game's final try in the 69th-minute before he saw yellow, going over in the right corner after being teed up by Robin Sowden-Taylor.
Sidoli returned to the fray and almost snaked his way over for a sixth Blues' try but television match official Tony Rowlands ruled that the replacement lock had been held up over the line. There was no fretting from the Blues though, a sixth win in nine encounters with Glasgow was comfortably theirs. |
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| First half timeline |
| 3 | Glasgow Warriors | Penalty kick - C Gregor |
| 12 | Cardiff Blues | Try - G Williams |
| 21 | Cardiff Blues | Substitution - R Sidoli on for D Jones |
| 30 | Cardiff Blues | Substitution - D Jones on for R Sidoli |
| 32 | Glasgow Warriors | Yellow card - B Stortoni |
| 33 | Cardiff Blues | Penalty kick - N Robinson |
| 33 | Glasgow Warriors | Substitution - H O'Hare on for T Evans |
| 34 | Cardiff Blues | Try - J Roberts |
| 34 | Cardiff Blues | Conversion - N Robinson |
| 37 | Glasgow Warriors | Penalty kick - C Gregor |
| 40 +1 | Glasgow Warriors | Penalty kick - C Gregor |
| Second half timeline |
| 41 | Glasgow Warriors | Substitution - E Kalman on for M Low |
| 41 | Glasgow Warriors | Substitution - D Turner on for A Newman |
| 42 | Cardiff Blues | Try - N Macleod |
| 42 | Cardiff Blues | Conversion - N Robinson |
| 45 | Cardiff Blues | Try - J Roberts |
| 49 | Glasgow Warriors | Substitution - S Pinder on for C O'Young |
| 49 | Cardiff Blues | Substitution - R Sidoli on for D Jones |
| 52 | Cardiff Blues | Substitution - T Riley on for D Hewitt |
| 55 | Cardiff Blues | Substitution - J Spice on for R Rees |
| 56 | Cardiff Blues | Substitution - S Roberts on for G Powell |
| 56 | Cardiff Blues | Substitution - M Molitika on for B White |
| 56 | Glasgow Warriors | Substitution - J Eddie on for S Swindall |
| 56 | Glasgow Warriors | Substitution - M Low on for M Collins |
| 59 | Glasgow Warriors | Substitution - P MacArthur on for E Kalman |
| 60 | Glasgow Warriors | Try - J Eddie |
| 60 | Glasgow Warriors | Conversion - C Gregor |
| 63 | Cardiff Blues | Substitution - B Blair on for J Roberts |
| 64 | Glasgow Warriors | Substitution - S Barrow on for D Gibson |
| 66 | Cardiff Blues | Yellow card - R Sidoli |
| 67 | Cardiff Blues | Substitution - R Johnson on for G Williams |
| 69 | Cardiff Blues | Try - T Selley |
| 74 | Cardiff Blues | Yellow card - T Selley |
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