Thom Evans (2), John Barclay, Dougie Hall and Colin Gregor all helped themselves to tries as Glasgow Warriors got their Magners League challenge back on track with a deserved 34-20 win over the Scarlets at Firhill. The Scarlets failed to build on a lively first quarter display as they suffered their second defeat north of the border in the space of a week. Gunned down last time out by Edinburgh, Nigel Davies’ men struggled for consistency at Firhill and by conceding three second half tries – all converted by Dan Parks – they were soon left to consider their fourth straight defeat to Scottish opposition. In-form winger Thom Evans grabbed a try in each half to inspire the Warriors to life and push his way to the top of the Magners League try-scoring list (5 tries). The bonus point win has Glasgow sitting sixth in the league table, ahead of next weekend’s trip to European champions Munster. After recent defeats to the Ospreys and Connacht, this was a vital victory for Sean Lineen’s men and the New Zealand-born coach admitted as much afterwards. "I’m so pleased for the guys. We had a good sit down after the Connacht game and they’ve put in a lot of hard work this week," he said. "Even when Llanelli came back into the game, I knew we had it in us to win. The feeling in the dressing room before the game was electric, I could just feel it." But it was the Scarlets who nudged ahead during an entertaining opening spell and fittingly it was fly-half Stephen Jones who got over for the opening try. It was a landmark night for Jones as he joined an elite band of players who have appeared in 250 matches for Llanelli RFC and the Scarlets. He was on hand, after a series of patient thrusts forward from both forwards and backs, to squeeze past Moray Low and nab a fourth-minute touchdown. Jones missed the conversion but he was able to add the extras to winger Mark Jones’ try in the 19th minute, which shot the visitors into a 12-0 lead. Before that, Glasgow failed to convert a decent try-scoring opportunity when full-back Bernardo Stortoni dithered after two excellent carries by Lome Fa’atau and Evans. Fa’atau was at fault for the Scarlets’ second try as he lost possession just metres inside his own half, allowing the pacy Jones a clear run to the try line. Things were looking bad for Glasgow at this point. Nevertheless, after Dan Parks had bisected the posts with a neat penalty strike, the hosts began to take the game by the scruff of the neck. The Scarlets struggled for possession in the lead-up to half-time as the Warriors seized control and a flowing move, involving a dozen players, ended with team captain Alistair Kellock passing for the evasive Evans to dot down. Parks missed the conversion and winger Fa’atau might have scored soon after had he got a better grip on the ball. Continuing to turn the screw, Glasgow kept up the attacking pressure and flanker John Barclay got over for a deserved try after some near misses from Johnnie Beattie and Opeta Palepoi. Parks could not convert again but Barclay’s five-pointer had edged Glasgow 13-12 ahead for the break and the psychological advantage was definitely their’s, given that Jones had missed two further penalty attempts (31 and 40 minutes). The winning of the game was really all down to the Warriors’ productive spell, coming up to the hour mark, when they tagged on 14 points without reply. Fa’atau turned hero when he launched a kick chase and brilliantly regained possession before holding off three defenders and offloading for hooker Dougie Hall to finish off a memorable try. Hall still had some work to do but he covered the ground impressively and set up a good position from which Parks converted. Glasgow’s bonus point score followed in the 59th minute. Max Evans burst out of defence, stepping around the Scarlets cover, and he made it over the halfway line before he passed for his younger brother Thom to finish off another outstanding seven-pointer. The Scarlets managed to reduce the arrears to 27-20, giving themselves hope of getting something out of the game. Mark Jones displayed his finishing skills again when he completed his brace, eight minutes from time. Stephen Jones missed the conversion but he made up for that by landing a late penalty to get the visitors into bonus point territory. Yet their good work was made to count for little as Glasgow were not finish scoring. A high kick from Stortoni caused problems for the Scarlets as it made its way to Kevin Tkachuk and a lovely pass from the replacement prop found the fast-breaking Fa’atau, whose quick offload helped replacement scrum half Colin Gregor stretch over for a seven-pointer.
