Tommy Seymour’s hat-trick saw Glasgow Warriors romp to a 38-16 victory against Treviso to take a major step closer to a home semi-final in the RaboDirect PRO12 play-offs. Seymour’s treble, as well as a score for Gordon Reid, ensured it was a comfortable victory for the Warriors at Stadio Monigo, taking their winning streak in the RaboDirect PRO12 to seven. In turn it puts the pressure on Munster, who must respond against Edinburgh on Saturday, if they are to challenge Gregor Townsend’s men for a place in the top two. For Treviso meanwhile, it’s another blow in their quest for the Italian berth in next season’s new look elite European competition as, following Zebre’s win over the Ospreys on Thursday, they remain bottom of the RaboDirect PRO12 table. After a tense opening ten minutes, it was Treviso who were first on the scoreboard when the Warriors were pinged in front of the posts – Mat Berquist on target with the penalty. But the visitors didn’t have to wait long to level and following a fine kick forward by scrum-half Henry Pyrgos, Finn Russell was presented with a tricky penalty that he made look easy. Midway through the first half, the Warriors took control with the first try of the match when Seymour kicked a loose ball forward from near halfway and raced clear to dot down. Russell converted but straight from the restart, the Warriors conceded another penalty and Berquist trimmed the deficit to 10-6. On 28 minutes however, Russell notched another penalty but indiscipline was creeping in for both sides and on the half hour mark, Berquist was at it again to make it 13-9. The pattern continued but on 33 minutes Russell was off target, however he found his range again just before the break after the Warriors’ scrum forced a Treviso infringement. And the visitors went into the break 19-9 to the good thanks to a booming Mark Bennett penalty from just inside his own half. The visitors streaked clear at the start of the second half and two minutes in, Seymour had his second try of the match, rounding off a fine move following a delightful pass from Peter Horne. Russell converted and the Warriors had try number three just five minutes later when prop Reid popped up on the wing and splashed over. This time Russell was wayward with the conversion but not even a yellow card for Warriors flanker Tyrone Holmes could knock the wind out of their sails. And just before the hour mark, Seymour completed his hat-trick after referee George Clancy consulted the TMO – this time Russell converted for a commanding 38-9 lead. It seemed to be a case of job done for the Warriors at that stage with maximum points secured and Treviso dug in to ensure no further scores from the visitors. They even grabbed a penalty try of their own in the closing stages – after the Warriors’ flanker Rob Harley had been sent to the sin bin – to reduce the scoreline to 38-16 but in truth they were well beaten. Follow us on Facebook, join the conversation on Twitter, sign up to ourYouTubechannel for extensive match highlights and sign up for our newsletter for regular updates on the RaboDirect PRO12.
