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Selected Lions star dramatically rules himself out in 'self-less' last-minute call
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Glasgow overcame the rain and some determined opposition to pick up a hard-fought 13-3 victory over Benetton which lifts them to second in the United Rugby Championship table.
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They will drop back down to third if Ulster get a result at the Dragons on Sunday, but Danny Wilson’s side have now won five URC matches on the bounce – the last three without their front-line internationals.
The first half was a cagey affair. An early exchange of penalties between Glasgow’s Domingo Miotti and Tomas Albornoz of Benetton made it 3-3 with just six minutes played.
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Home winger Rufus McLean thought he had claimed the first try of the match when he hacked a loose ball into the in-goal area and then outstripped Benetton’s cover defence.
But referee Frank Murphy viewed the video replay and decided that the ball had not been properly grounded.
Warriors kept their foot on the gas, and full-back Ollie Smith showed McLean – his flatmate – how to finish off a try a few minutes later, showing impressive strength to shrug off three tackles on his way to the line. Miotti could not manage the conversion.
Smith threatened again for the hosts when he broke from deep, but he was tackled before he managed to release the support runners on both his left and right, so the chance was lost.
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Benetton dominated possession and territory during the final 10 minutes of the first half without really putting Warriors under real pressure.
The closest they got to scoring during that period was an audacious drop-goal attempt from halfway by winger Rhyno Smith which floated to the left of the posts.
Warriors claimed their second try of the match when Jack Dempsey muscled over just before the hour mark, five minutes after an excellent kick into the corner by replacement stand-off Ross Thompson had put the home side on the front foot.
With rain teeming down conditions were tough, and both teams struggled to assert themselves in an attacking sense.
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Warriors had more control and enjoyed another lengthy spell in their opponents’ 22, but they could not make it count any further on the scoreboard.
