Oh no you don't!

By saracensfan62
January 19 2026

How much can change from one week to the next. Glasgow produced a clinical, high-intensity first half and soaked up late Saracens pressure to run out 28–3 winners in the final match of the Investec Champions Cup pool stage, sealing a perfect pool stage for them and home advantage in the last-16, whilst we now, having taken absolutely zilch from this match, must travel away to the Rec to face Bath for our RO16. If we pull off an absolute miracle and beat them, chances are we then face Northampton at the Gardens in the QF - just wonderful. Three first-half tries (Ollie Smith, Kyle Steyn, George Horne) established the lead for the in-form Warriors; a late Seb Stephen maul try confirmed the bonus point. Saracens’ only points came from an early Owen Farrell penalty. Three yellow cards (Juan-Martín González, Noah Caluori and Kyle Rowe) punctuated the game. George Horne was Investec Player of the Match on his 150th appearance and shone throughout. As soon as Glasgow scored a mere 9 minutes in, I feel many sensed it would be one of those days for us. We were right. What I will comment on was how horribly inconsistent the refereeing was. I can’t say that Sir (or monsieur, if you wish) was distinctly biased or showed ‘homer-like’ behaviour, but it was just impossible to know which way the 50/50 calls were going to go. His officiating of the scrum was interesting, suffice to say. We were, primarily, the authors of our own misfortunes though.

First Half

Having unfortunately not been able to make it to Scotstoun myself due to a lower back injury, I was sat on the sofa with drink in-hand and Premier Sports 2 at the ready for this one. The teams ran out to much cheering and raucous chanting from both the Glasgow faithful and noisy Sarries fans who had travelled in numbers and were heard throughout the game. Being the final game in the pool stages, both teams knew exactly what they needed to do and achieve from this game. Makes things easier, I feel. Your fate lies in your own hands. Anyhow, Owen Faz hoisted the ball high in the air and we had lift off. It really did not take long for Glasgow to get on top. With some early scrum dominance, they won a penalty, which Horne took quickly and Warriors began their attack. The next 5 minutes or so consisted of sustained Glasgow pressure after an Alex Craig break. Multiple phases in the Saracens 22 allowed Glasgow to build up pressure. This took its toll eventually and Glasgow got their try. Quick ball from a previous Z Fagersn carry allowed Dan Lancaster quick ball, Roti Segun bit in on the outside and this left Ollie Smith unmarked and he needed no 2^nd invitation to run in virtually untouched. George Horne converted comfortably and it was already Glasgow 7–0 Saracens.

Saracens were able to get on the scoreboard not long after when Glasgow were adjudged to have gone offside. Sensing the corner wasn’t the right option and points were needed, Farrell slotted an easy penalty to make things 7-3 to Glasgow. Better, but not perfect. In the next few minutes, Saracens attempt to regain momentum; however a line break from George Horne (great tackle by Max Malins, else it would’ve been another try) led to an illegal intervention around the breakdown by Juan-Martín González when he knocked the ball out of Horne’s hands. He was punished with a sin-binning and 10 minutes to contemplate the cheekiness of his actions. In the meantime, Maro Itoje had started some schoolboy-like shenanigans by pulling Zander Fagerson’s scrum cap off and both teams decided it was time to set their boundaries with each other and have a wee push and shove. Nothing wrong with that in my opinion, the game really was at a boiling point the whole time and always did look like things were going to go over the top at any moment. Such was Glasgow’s control and Saracens frustration; it was unusual to see us struggle to swing the game momentum like this.  maintained pressure but didn’t capitalise immediately. It took a further 7 minutes for Glasgow to get their 2^nd try. After a Glasgow attacking lineout, Sarries conceding a penalty and Glasgow’s pack carried powerfully. George Horne orchestrating a lovely switch move, caught the guards slacking, found Kyle Steyn who bamboozled Jamie George and finished under the posts. Horne converted and it was 14-3 to Glasgow. It only took Glasgow a further 5 minutes to get their 3^rd and close in on the BP before half time. Slick interplay from Tuipuilotu and Jack Dempsey (along with shoddy sarries tackling) created a linebreak, where George Horne crossed from close range following a tidy offload. He converted his own try and the score was 21-3. Sarries had some late pressure in the Glasgow 22 and came very close to scoring but after the ball was bundled into touch. 21–3 to Glasgow after three first-half tries and a strong display of forward control and defensive organisation. A reset was needed and I imagine strong words were had in the changing room.

Second Half

The second half began with Saracens pressure. We probed without cutting through, the most notable of which was Roti Segun finding himself in space. He was unfortunately shutdown by a combination of Kyle Steyn and Rowe. Kyle Rowe was shown yellow for a high tackle/challenge on Roti Segun as he was dragged into touch, Glasgow thus reduced to 14 men for 10 minutes.
Despite the yellow card, Glasgow continued to dominate scrums/rucks; Saracens struggled to build sustained phases and were conceding penalties left right and centre. Glasgow made tactical substitutions 59′/64′ to refresh pack and these seemingly worked a treat. Glasgow were under the pump for a period but defended stoutly and kept Sarries away from the line. On 73 minutes, Noah Caluori was shown yellow for a cynical foul as he knocked the ball on deliberately into touch (I think? My memory may not be serving me correctly, forgive me if I’m wrong). In the final play, the Glasgow maul powers over and Seb Stephen touches down; kick good for the extra 2 points and Horne maintained a 100% kicking record in this match. Full-time: Glasgow 28–3 Saracens and a thumping victory for the Scotsmen, sending us back to London with our proverbial tails between our legs.

This was a horribly disappointing defeat for both players and the supporters who made the long and tiring journey north to watch a pretty abysmal defeat. I appreciate Glasgow are a strong team and taking a win from Scotstoun was always a very tall order, but some fight and desire may have been appreciated! At one point I’m sure I saw Owen and Andy O-C bickering at each other on the field. Never a good sign when your own players start going at each other.

All that’s left to say is safe travels home to all and we get back to action with a home game next Saturday vs Newcastle.

Glasgow Warriors v Saracens Champions Cup Report

Discussion started by TheSaracens.com , 19/01/2026 09:56

TheSaracens.com
19/01/2026 09:56

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2026:01:25:12:36:20 by Darraghgirl.

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TommyKentish
19/01/2026 11:48

“ unfortunately not been able to make it to Scotstoun myself due to a lower back injury” firstly,I hope that starts to get better. Secondly think you need to change that first word 😂.

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saracensfan62
19/01/2026 13:40

Even for a heavy loss such as this one TK, I do so enjoy away trips (ie. a weekend out of Birmingham lol) and supporting Sarries! This one stung but I have every faith we can and will bounce back.

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Darraghgirl
19/01/2026 15:21

Thanks James, not an easy report to write
Hope the back improves

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saracensfan62
19/01/2026 23:19

Thank you DG, it was not easy to write hence I kept it short and sweet.

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