Kyle Steyn plays ‘captain’s innings’, Glasgow Warriors secure bonus-point win but Zebre make it tricky

Franco Smith praises his two-try skipper as Scotstoun side go top

Glasgow Warriors captain Kyle Steyn, who scored two second-half tries, on the attack in the 40-9 victory over Zebre Parma in the BKT United Rugby Championship at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi. (Photo by Luca Sighniolfi/INPHO/Shutterstock)

Franco Smith singled out captain Kyle Steyn for special praise as Glasgow Warriors overcame a tricky first 25 minutes in Italy to defeat Zebre 40-9.

Smith’s side have now won six games in a row in the United Rugby Championship and this bonus-point victory at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi sets them up for next month’s mini-tour of South Africa and arguably their toughest two league games of the season.

They took a long time to break Zebre down but showed patience to secure the five points required to move them to the top of the table and on course for home advantage in the play-offs. Two tries apiece from Gregor Hiddleston and Steyn, and one each from Jamie Dobie and George Horne, secured the win and Glasgow now have a free week before heading south to take on the Bulls and the Lions in Steyn and Smith’s homeland.

“He played a captain’s innings today and I’m really proud of that because we were underperforming in the first 10-15 minutes and I asked him specifically - I got a message onto him - I told him you have to put in an important shift and be a point of reference for us,” the Glasgow coach said of Steyn.

“He played really well and through actions he showed his leadership. Sometimes you can talk things right, sometimes you can motivate other people but to play things right is a special ability and I’m really proud of him.”

On a warm afternoon in Parma, Glasgow seemed to take a long time to acclimatise and Smith acknowledged that the conditions suited Zebre better than them.

“The temperature was -1C when we woke up on Friday morning in Glasgow and it was more than 20C here in Parma so I can understand why we looked a little bit lethargic,” said the coach. “That’s not an excuse, obviously, but we needed to tire these guys out. They were very well motivated and very well prepared. Because we stuck to the plan and the process, we got the result.”

Glasgow, who have not lost in the URC since the 1872 Cup match against Edinburgh at Murrayfield on December 30, struggled to get into the match as the hosts dominated territory and possession in the first 25 minutes but their 6-0 lead was scant reward. Thomas Dominguez, Zebre’s scrum-half, supplied the points with two penalties and it should have been more, Jacopo Trulla missing from longer range.

The visitors found themselves on the wrong side of the referee at the scrum and were further hampered when they lost Sintu Manjezi to an ankle injury after 20 minutes, although Scott Cummings was a more than adequate replacement and had a big role to play in the Glasgow revival.

While they were finding little joy at scrum-time, the lineout was a different matter and it was through this route that they turned things around in the final ten minutes of the first half. It’s a tried and trusted routine for Glasgow but there was a new man at the back of the lineout maul, with Hiddleston scoring twice to put his team ahead at the interval. With backs Stafford McDowall and Kyle Steyn joining the lineout, Glasgow went long and set up the maul and there was Hiddleston to finish things off.

They repeated the trick after a great break by Steyn. Cummings secured the lineout and Hiddleston bagged his second try. Thompson converted both to give the Warriors a scarcely deserved 14-6 lead at half-time.

Dominguez cut the advantage to 14-9 just after the break but they were to be the home side’s last points. Steyn has looked like Glasgow’s liveliest attacker during the first 40 and he pressed home his side’s advantage in the second half with two fine tries.

The first came from a Jamie Dobie box kick which bounced awkwardly. Henco Venter reacted first and gave it to Steyn who cut through some lacklustre tackling to score. The bonus-point try came shortly after and was the pick of the bunch. Horne, on for Kyle Rowe, passed to Sione Tuipulotu and his little ball out the back allowed Dobie to play the long looped pass to Steyn to finish. Thompson, who’d converted Steyn’s first try, was off target this time but Glasgow were now 26-9 ahead and looking secure.

They pressed home their advantage with two more tries in the final five minutes, and replacement Tom Jordan had a hand in both. Taking the ball on the inside from the impressive Josh McKay, he broke free before playing in Dobie to score. Three minutes later Jordan again found space, this time passing to Euan Ferrie who shipped it on to the supporting Horne to finish. Thompson converted both to take his personal haul to 10 points.

Scorers: Zebre Parma: Pens: Dominguez 3. Glasgow Warriors: Tries: Hiddleston 2, Steyn 2, Dobie, Horne. Cons: Thompson 5.

Zebre Parma: L Pani; J Trulla, F Smith Jr, E Lucchin, S Gregory; G Prisciantelli (F Paea 52-62), T Dominguez (R Jelic 64); D Fischetti (S Taddei 63), M Manfredi (G Ribaldi 46), M Hasa (J Pitinari 46), L Krumov (M Canali 58), D de Leeuw (D Sisi 46), G Volpi (T Fox-Matamua 43), I Bianchi (De Leeuw 73), G Ferrari.

Glasgow Warriors: J McKay; K Steyn, S McDowall (T Jordan 72), S Tuipulotu, K Rowe (G Horne 56); R Thompson, J Dobie; A Dell (N McBeth 56), G Hiddleston (Grant Stewart 65), L Sordoni (Z Fagerson 56), S Manjezi (S Cummings 20), M Williamson (G Brown 65), A Miller, T Gordon, H Venter (E Ferrie 56).

Referee: Eoghan Cross (IRFU)

Attendance: 2,500.