 Colin Gregor kicked 20 points for Glasgow at Hughenden |
Glasgow 25 (16)
Try: Evans
Con: Gregor
Pen: Gregor 6
Border Reivers 0 (0)
Tries: None
Cons: None
Pen: None
Colin Gregor inspired Glasgow Warriors to victory over Border Reivers, repaying success-starved coach Sean Lineen for his act of faith.
Lineen had sparked a surprise by picking Gregor in the playmaking number 10 role ahead of Scotland's Dan Parks.
And he responded with a brilliant 20-point display of marksmanship.
Thom Evans grabbed the only try of the game as Glasgow inflicted bottom-of-the-table Reivers' fifth straight defeat in the Magners League.
The visitors looked the more fired-up side during the error-strewn opening exchanges.
But it was Glasgow who seized the initiative in terms of getting early points on the board.
They broke the deadlock with an angled penalty by Gregor, who then repeated the feat from the same spot to give his team a useful cushion after 11 minutes.
Reivers suffered a further setback midway through the half when flanker Andy Miller was sent to the sin-bin for careless use of the boot at a ruck.
Warriors earned a string of penalties close to the visitors' line and Gregor completed his treble with another confident strike from the left side of the park.
Former Wasps player Evans bagged the opening touchdown after he punched a hole in the Reivers fringe defence.
 Glasgow's Thom Evans (right) grabbed the only try of the game |
Two phases later, he was perfectly positioned to scoop up a deft chip by John Barclay and plunge over in the corner.
Gregor's conversion was from the widest possible angle, but he made it look easy, creating a 16-point gap.
Reivers gained more possession towards the end of the first half, but they were unable to make any telling dents in the well-drilled home defence.
Glasgow grabbed back the momentum after the restart, with Gregor continuing his superb display by adding two more penalties in quickfire order.
Outside half Steve Jones became Reivers' second yellow-card victim for killing the ball illegally on the deck.
But, thanks mainly to the guts and guile of fit-again Chris Cusiter, they pinned the Warriors back in their 22 area for a long spell.
However, their finishing did not match their lead-up work and Glasgow enjoyed a stroll to the final whistle.
Glasgow: Lamont, O'Hare, Morrison, Henderson, Evans, Gregor, Beveridge, Va'a, Thomson, Murray, Newman, Kellock, Wilson, Barclay, Beattie.
Replacements: Parks for Lamont (62), Barrow for Henderson (66), Pinder for Beveridge (55), Tckachuk for Va'a (70), Lawson for Thomson (55), Turner for Newman (78), MacFadyen for Wilson (48).
Border Reivers: MacRae, Danielli, De Luca, Law, Robertson, Jones, C. Cusiter, Kerr, Ford, Douglas, Hamilton, Palepoi, Beattie, Miller, Brown.
Replacements: Scott for Douglas (69), Dalziel for Palepoi (38), Newlands for Beattie (69), Gray for Miller (51). Not Used: Kalman, McKearchar, Townsend.
Att: 1,967
Ref: Peter Allan (SRFU).