Tigers profit as Glasgow lose way

Leicester took charge of Pool Six without ever being at their most authoritative or destructive against a tireless Glasgow side who made far too many mistakes for their own good at McDiarmid Park. It was a game which promised so much but eventually fell well short of expectations.

Leicester took charge of Pool Six without ever being at their most authoritative or destructive against a tireless Glasgow side who made far too many mistakes for their own good at McDiarmid Park. It was a game which promised so much but eventually fell well short of expectations.

Not that Leicester were in the mood to complain. The last time they were in these parts, they fell foul of a full-blooded Highland ambush from which they never recovered, and failed to qualify for the knock-out stages of the tournament. After this victory, it is the Caledonians with a second successive defeat who are unlikely to go any further while the Tigers will almost certainly make the quarter-finals, if they win their remaining two home games.

Glasgow ought to have been closer than 10-17 at the interval, and would have been were it not for some woeful option-taking and over anxiety after Dorian West was yellow-carded for killing the ball to deny Glasgow a way into the left corner. They had several opportunities to close the gap, but squandered the lot, and had only a solitary try for the hard-working flanker, Gordon Simpson, to show for it, with the conversion and one penalty from Tommy Hayes.

With Hayes having an indifferent time with his right boot, after kicking Glasgow into the lead, the Cook Islander failed with three penalties, which would have increased the pressure on the Tigers. Instead, it was Leicester more often than not who made the most of their attacking chances, though their finishing was far from flawless.

However, in broken play Leicester were often able to play the game at speeds to which Glasgow were clearly unaccustomed. Ben Kay delivered another towering performance at lock, while Paul Gustard grows in authority with every appearance. Once the Leicester forwards began punching holes, the tries looked inevitable. The reality was somewhat different, despite smartly-taken touchdowns from Leon Lloyd and Neil Back, both of which Tim Stimpson converted to add to a first-quarter penalty.

Having run every ball they could get their hands on, Leicester had to wait another 30 minutes for the next try, scored and converted almost inevitably by man-of-the-match Stimpson, who pounced on a speculative chip by Leon Lloyd.

Stimpson and Hayes kicked two penalties apiece, before Stimpson banged over his fourth penalty from fully 60 metres. Glasgow were all but dead and buried, but kept plugging away for Gavin Scott to grab a late consolation try.

Glasgow: Tries Simpson, Scott; Conversion Hayes; Penalties Hayes 3. Leicester: Tries Lloyd, Back, Stimpson; Conversions Stimpson 3; Penalties Stimpson 4.

Glasgow: R Shepherd; J Steel (G Metcalfe, 62), A Bulloch, I Jardine, S Longstaff; T Hayes, G Beveridge; D Hilton, G Bulloch (capt, G Scott, 45-52, 61), G McIlwham, S Campbell, S Griffiths (M Waite, 71), J White, G Simpson, J Petrie (R Reid, 59).

Leicester: T Stimpson; G Murphy, L Lloyd (O Smith, 71), P Howard, W Stanley; A Goode, J Hamilton (J Grindal, 79); G Rowntree (D Jelley, 65), D West (R Cockerill, 65), D Garforth (R Nebbett, 79), M Johnson (capt), B Kay (P Short, 76), P Gustard (L Moody, 67), N Back, A Balding (R Cockerill, 33-43).

Referee: D Mené (France).