Reverse ruins Reds record

Leicester 34, Glasgow Caley 21. Glasgow Caledonians have found it as difficult as the other three teams in Pool A of the Heineken European Cup to win away from home, and they came no closer to ending the sequence when they failed to build on an impressive first half against Leicester, in front of a partisan 9,801 spectators at a noisy Welford Road.

With all four teams in the group having the same number of points, it will not be until the final round of matches next month before the quarter-final line-up will be decided. If Caledonians are to progress they may have to win at Leinster, before getting something out of their final home game, against Stade Franais.

The Glasgow forwards fought bravely, and every one did his stint of tackling. Jason White and Stewart Campbell had big games at the line-out, while the Caledonians' front row never conceded an inch of ground.

At half-back Glasgow were a curious mixture of the self-assured and indecisive. Elsewhere among the Caledonians' backs Glenn Metcalfe timed his runs into the line with some certainty while the rest all played important parts, especially James Craig. Ultimately, it came down to who emerged best from a thunderous second half, and Leicester just shaded it.

The Caledonians' coach, Richie Dixon, was not too downbeat afterwards, because he felt that Glasgow might have won.

"We were controlling the game in the first half and had James Craig got closer to the ball and nicked a second try, we would then have gone to 18 or 20 points to 10. It could well have been a different game if he had scored. But our ball retention was not good and in the second half we were denied possession for long periods.

"Even though we lost, some of our defence was quite outstanding and we showed that we are now a very competitive team. You have to remember we don't have the same history as Leicester, but we made them work for their victory. And our last score highlighted the type of rugby we are attempting to play."

Leicester made seven changes from the team which stared at McDiarmid Park last Sunday. In addition there were two positional moves. Martin Colly played in the second row in place of England captain Martin Johnson who has an Achilles problem, while Austin Healey who finished on the wing at Perth came in at outside-half for the first time in his Leicester career.

If some of the changes smacked of desperation, Glasgow, brimming with confidence after their stunning 30-17 defeat of the English champions in the first game, were unchanged.

Even so, well before it fell to Tommy Hayes to set the game in motion, Caledonians were well aware that Leicester had not been beaten on their home patch in league or cup since Newcastle won there in the Allied Dunbar Premiership, on December 30, 1997. Not a bad record by any standard.

Not that it meant anything to Hayes. The Cook Islander has only memories of the last time he ventured into the Tigers' lair, when Glasgow went down 90-19. Hayes, burning to erase the memory of that unhappy afternoon by guiding Glasgow to a second victory against Leicester within a week, banged over a 40-yard penalty within a minute. His next effort from 55m fell short.

Tim Stimpson tied the scores with a short penalty but Glasgow, their tails up, were soon back in front. Gordon Bulloch opened up the home defence. The ball was spun right and there was Hayes to hand the scoring pass to James Craig. Hayes converted, then slotted another penalty, so after 14 minutes Caledonians were 13-3 to the good.

Neil Back punched a hole in Glasgow's advantage with a try after Shaun Longstaff's lazy clearance was charged down. Stimpson converted and Leicester were looking good.

Longstaff redeemed himself by making ground through the middle, but Craig was denied a second try as Adam Balding just touched down ahead of the young winger. This attack apart, it took Glasgow some while to return to the offensive. But when Leicester applied the pressure with a series of rucks and line-out drives deep in Glasgow territory the Scots' defence held firm and they were good value to go in at the break, 13-10 in front.

Craig, who had limped off, was replaced by Ian McInroy and, as Glasgow were settling into their stride, Stimpson levelled the scores with a 43-yard penalty, just four minutes into the half.

Andy Nicol has played here so many times for Bath that he can have been under no illusions about what a test of character it is for a team on the back foot as the clock ticks down in the cauldron that is Welford Road.

The intensity increased as Dave Lougheed sped into the left corner for a try which took Leicester in front for the first time in the match. Stimpson failed narrowly with the conversion. Then, when the Glasgow forwards had resisted anther assault on their line, Hayes banged over his third penalty after Pat Howard had showed dissent.

Until Gordon Bulloch grabbed a late try, latching on to his brother Alan's pass, Glasgow went into gradual decline. Corry charged into a thicket of Caledonians' defenders; when the ball emerged Healey was on hand for the try. Stimpson converted and kicked two penalties to leave Glasgow adrift at 31-16.

Before Bulloch's score, Jason White was yellow-carded for stamping, while Gordon McIlwham was fortunate not to receive a card for a similar offence. By then the game had gone for Glasgow, and Stimpson had the last word with his fifth penalty.

Copyright 1999
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