Horne hails Warriors’ bolder, riskier tactics

GEORGE HORNE insists Glasgow Warriors were back to their freeflowing best in Friday night’s thrashing of Cardiff at Scotstoun.

The Warriors ran in eight tries as they thumped the Welsh side 52-24, with scrum-half Horne among the scorers in a man-of-the-match display.

It was an excellent response from Franco Smith’s men after they had lost their opening game in the URC at Benetton the previous weekend.

But Horne feels the emphatic victory over Cardiff was a sign that Glasgow have got their mojo back — and was a return to the glory days of old.

A desire to run the ball from deep and play an expansive style of rugby was evident throughout the Glasgow performance, much to Horne’s delight.

‘Absolutely, that’s the most I’ve enjoyed a game in a while,’ he said. ‘We kind of got back to our old DNA of attacking, holding on to the ball and playing at high speed.

‘I think you could see the enjoyment in all of us. We scored a lot of tries and had a lot of fun. It brought the best out in us.

‘We set out to fire the first shot and really take the game to Cardiff. We were frustrated since we didn’t really do that last week.

‘It’s something that we’re probably more comfortable doing — playing a riskier, high-tempo style of rugby.

‘We did that for almost the full 85 minutes, given that the clock ran over and we didn’t want to kick the ball out at the end. That shows our fitness.

‘We are looking to play slightly more from deep, which is good. It lets you attack more and have more time on the ball.

‘That suits me. We want to have the ball. As a club, that suits us. Franco is definitely trying to liberate us in that sense.

‘We weren’t talking about being fearful or anything after what happened last week. The theme was to try and be brave and show what we can do.’

Horne is pleased to be back fit again after a difficult couple of years. He has struggled with injuries and has largely been overshadowed by Ali Price.

But he offered a reminder of his talent against Cardiff, providing the spark at scrum-half for what was an excellent team performance.

‘It was really good to be back at home and back playing again,’ he said. ‘I’ve had a few injuries over the past couple of seasons.

‘It was actually a bit emotional to be back playing at home again. I loved every minute of it.

‘It’s the same for everyone. The more you play and get a run under your belt, the more you start to get into a rhythm.’