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Injury concern for Scotland as Glasgow fall to knockouts-bound Harlequins
By PA
Harlequins qualified for the knockout stages of the Investec Champions Cup with a 24-7 victory over Glasgow Warriors.
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The result means Quins will finish Pool 4 with nine points and are certain to finish in the top four due to a considerably superior points difference over Racing 92, who could not record a big enough win against the Stormers.
The Warriors were already assured of a home tie in the last 16, which takes place on the first weekend of April, but they will be frustrated at not being able to avenge last season’s defeat against Harlequins at that stage of the competition.
In a cagey opening at the Twickenham Stoop, Glasgow were forced into a change after only 10 minutes when injured lock Scott Cummings – in what could be a blow to Scotland’s Six Nations preparations – had to be replaced by Alex Samuel.
It was Harlequins who broke through in the 14th minute when England international Chandler Cunningham-South was able to force his way over from a metre out after a series of pick-and-goes by his fellow forwards.
The hosts quickly added a second try when a flowing couple of phases ended with Cunningham-South off-loading for James Chisholm who charged through a gap down the left to score.
Marcus Smith converted both scores and then added a simple penalty from in front of the posts to extend Quins’ lead to 17-0 after 25 minutes.
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Glasgow then exploded into life with a superb try just before the half-hour mark when Kyle Rowe broke down the left wing with the ball going through the hands of Stafford McDowell and Jamie Dobie before fly-half Tom Jordan ran in under the posts.
Harlequins youngster Ben Waghorn thought he had marked his first European start with a try just before half-time, but his joy was short-lived after the TMO spotted an obstruction by Oscar Beard on Huw Jones in the build-up.
The hosts turned around 17-7 ahead at the break, but Glasgow almost pulled another score back in the 53rd minute when Josh McKay knocked on close to the line in challenging Smith for Jordan’s kick ahead.
The Warriors were now dominating, but a series of errors, such as knock-ons or moments of indiscipline, kept allowing Harlequins, still searching for a match-clinching score themselves, a chance to escape.
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In truth, where the first half flowed nicely, the second half had become a scrappy affair, which was not suiting either side’s ambitions.
What was far more helpful for Quins was a third try in the 68th minute as they turned the ball over inside their own half before Tyrone Green’s pass gave Cadan Murley a clear 50-metre run to the line to secure the win.
