Warriors hold nerve for narrow win against Lightning

Celtic Challenge 2025-26 - Round Eight

Gwalia Lightning (7) 12

Tries: Thomas-Bradley, Pearce Cons: Hughes

Glasgow Warriors (7) 15

Tries: Sutcliffe, Norval, Cons: Warren 2

Glasgow Warriors held off Gwalia Lightning in a 15-12 win to register their second victory of the season.

Third-place Lightning went into the match at Ystrad Mynach with an 11-point lead over the fourth-placed Warriors and started the game on the front foot.

Chloe Thomas-Bradley powered over the line in the seventh minute before a successful conversion from Carys Hughes gave the hosts a seven-point lead.

Glasgow responded in the 35th minute after Aicha Sutcliffe finished off a move she started from a line-out, crossing with a strong carry to get the visitors on the board.

The Warriors took the lead for the first time in the second half when Emily Norval finished off a flowing team move to put the Scottish side 12-7 up.

The decisive moment of the game came in the 71st minute when Glasgow were awarded a penalty which Millie Warren duly dispatched to open up an eight-point lead.

Despite a late fightback from Gwalia, courtesy of a Chiara Pearce try, Glasgow held on to record their second win of their Celtic Challenge season and their first since the opening round of games.

Warriors' win means they cut the difference to Lightning to just seven points in the table as both teams chase a spot in the Celtic Challenge semi-finals.

Gwalia Lightning: Prothero, C Richards, Webster, Anderson-Thomas, C Lewis; Carys Hughes, Hawkins; Scoble, Reardon, Hill, A Pyrs, Pearce, Stewart, A Owen, King (capt).

Replacements: Wakely, Thomas-Bradley, Cuming, Latham, Hokpins, Bevans, Palmer, Greenway.

Glasgow Warriors: Fletcher, Sutcliffe, Lindsay, Bogan (co-capt), Murphy, Thomson, MacGilvray, Coubrough, Darroch, Ainsworth (co-capt), Norval, McNamara, McLaren, Douglas, Warren

Replacements: Hyland, Gracie, Spence, Zameer, Walker, Main, Dunnett, Gibson