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Kiwi flyer scores a brace as Glasgow ease past Dragons

By PA
Josh McKay of Glasgow Warriors. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Scrum-half Ben Afshar scored on his first professional start as Glasgow recorded a 40-7 bonus-point victory over the Dragons.

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Warriors led from the 30-second mark as both Josh McKay and Stafford McDowall claimed the first of their two tries in the opening four minutes.

Facundo Cordero also notched a try on a personal milestone as he made his long-awaited debut, while Will Reed claimed a consolation score for the visitors at Scotstoun.

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There was little doubt about the outcome from the opening moments as Warriors moved into second place in the BKT United Rugby Championship table.

Full-back McKay took a high ball on the 40-metre line, wriggled through some bodies and side-stepped two Dragons players to cross. Ross Thompson added the first of his four conversions.

Franco Smith’s side soon got their second try after hooker Jonny Matthews won the ball from the Dragons’ line-out. The hosts worked the ball to McDowall, who charged through.

The skipper was soon contributing at the other end as he held the ball up when the Welsh side’s pack crossed.

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Much of the first half was scrappy, but Glasgow put the game beyond doubt just before the interval when McDowall broke the lines and passed outside to McKay to cross.

The home side repelled some early second-half pressure before securing the bonus point inside four minutes of the restart. Henco Venter, Jamie Dobie and then Tom Jordan all made ground and Scotland Under-20 international Afshar kept up with play to accept the pass and go over.

Matthew Screech touched down at the other end, but Dan Lydiate was penalised for obstruction and the try was disallowed on video evidence.

Dragons eventually got some reward for their sporadic spells of pressure when replacement Reed wriggled over after taking a quick pass from Angus O’Brien, who added the conversion.

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But the score only served to spark a strong finish from the home side.

A slick move ended with Duncan Weir playing a long pass out to the right wing for former Exeter player Cordero to go over.

Scotland centre McDowall capped an impressive display by crossing for the second time with five minutes left before Weir rounded off the scoring with his boot.

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Poorfour 15 minutes ago
Antoine Dupont undergoes surgery on injured knee ahead of long absence

So “it wasn’t foul play because it wasn’t foul play” is - to you - not only an acceptable answer but the only possible answer?


I would hope that the definition of foul play is clear enough that they can say “that wasn’t foul play - even though it resulted in a serious injury - because although player A did not wrap with the right arm, he entered the ruck through the gate and from a legal angle at a legal height, and was supporting his own weight until player B entered the ruck behind him and pushed him onto player C’s leg” or “that wasn’t foul play although players D and E picked player F out of a ruck, tipped him upside down and dropped him on his shoulder because reasons.”


Referees sometimes offer a clear explanation, especially when in discussion with the TMO, but they don’t always, especially for incidents that aren’t reviewed on field. It’s also a recognised flaw in the bunker system that there isn’t an explanation of the card decisions - I’d personally prefer the bunker to prepare a short package of the best angles and play back to the ref their reasoning, with the ref having the final say, like an enhanced TMO. It would cost a few more seconds, but would help the crowd to understand.


Greater clarity carries with it risks - not least that if the subsequent feedback is at odds with the ref’s decision they run the risk of harassment on social media - but rugby is really struggling to show that it can manage these decisions consistently, and offering a clear explanation after the fact would help to ensure better consistency in officiating in future.

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