Saints end winless Champions Cup streak with superb victory at Glasgow Warriors

The Warriors had only lost one home match in all competitions in two years, while Saints had lost the previous 10 Champions Cup matches they had played, failing to win in the tournament since a success at Lyon in January 2020.

However, the records were ripped up as Phil Dowson's men rocked up and produced one of their finest European performances for many a year.

Saints were 22-5 up at the break, with man of the match Tommy Freeman running riot as he scored two tries to add to an effort from Courtney Lawes.

Fin Smith added two penalties after the break to stretch the gap to a whopping 23 points before Glasgow responded late on with a fine solo score from Ollie Smith and a penalty try.

But that couldn't dampen Saints' spirits on a rain-soaked night at Scotstoun Stadium.

Saints had headed into Europe on the back of impressive Gallagher Premiership wins against Harlequins and Saracens.

But the black, green and gold were suffered a nightmare start as Alex Mitchell's pass on halfway was picked off by wing Sebastian Cancelliere, who had the speed to get all the way to the line.

Tom Jordan was unable to convert and Saints were undeterred by the concession of the try as they bossed possession and looked dangerous on the break.

Freeman was causing the Warriors all sorts of problems and after he made the initial inroads, Saints worked a special score.

Smith gave the ball to Fraser Dingwall, who provided some dazzling play, pretending to go inside before going out to George Hendy. Hendy released Lawes for the score. It was Lawes' first Saints try since the opening day of the 2018/19 season.

Smith converted and Saints soon had a chance to go for goal with a penalty won by Sam Graham at the breakdown. Smith made no mistake, striking it so well from close to halfway.

Saints were swarming all over Glasgow, and another patient but high-tempo move soon resulted in a second try as Freeman powered over.

Smith sent his conversion attempt to the left of the posts but Glasgow were a man down 12 minutes before the break following a lineout incident. Scott Cummings was ruled to have jumped across a Saints lineout and as he landed on Alex Waller's head, the yellow card was shown.

Waller was down for some time and needed lengthy treatment as he had taken a lot of weight through his body due to the unfortunate way Cummings landed on him.

But Waller was thankfully able to walk off the field, being replaced by Tarek Haffar, who was on to make his Saints debut.

And Saints soon had a third try on the night as, after Hendy was stopped just short, the away side worked the ball well to Freeman, who was again far too strong for the hosts as he delivered a fine finish from close range.

Smith added the extras with ease to make it 22-5, and Saints then showed their defensive strength as Alex Moon and Lawes worked hard to ruin a Glasgow maul.

Mitchell then did some impressive defensive work of his own as he raced back to stop Cancelliere in his tracks after he intercepted a pass from Smith close to halfway.

Smith soon did some far better work at the other end, making a break and delivering a brilliant out-the-back-door offload to skipper George Furbank, who was stopped in the 22.

Glasgow were able to get out as they won a free-kick at a five-metre scrum and they then also held out from the final play of the half, with Saints coming so close to their bonus-point score before the home side won a penalty on their own line.

Glasgow tried to apply some pressure at the start of the second half, but Saints did superbly to stop them gaining any momentum, with Hendy eventually winning the breakdown penalty.

Saints were hit by an injury blow as Sam Graham was forced off with what appeared to be a hip problem, bringing Tom Pearson into the action.

But Glasgow were soon penalised for offside, allowing Smith to extend the lead to 20 points with the successful penalty.

Smith was unsuccessful with a drop goal soon after as Saints again put the squeeze on Glasgow following another break from Freeman.

But Smith was on target soon after, bisecting the posts with a penalty won at the scrum.

Saints were desperate to secure the bonus-point try with a 23-point lead now in their favour, but struggles at attacking lineouts were stopping their momentum.

And Glasgow hit them with a sucker punch with 12 minutes to go as wing Smith scored a fine individual try, kicking ahead and gathering before scoring.

Ross Thompson converted well from the touchline and the gap was 16 points.

The Warriors were suddenly on the charge, and Saints had to scramble to stop them out wide.

But Angus Scott-Young gave away a penalty in a scuffle and Saints were up against it as Glasgow set up a lineout drive. However, the away side, as they had done all night, competed superbly against the home maul and managed to turn it over.

The Warriors kept coming in the bid for some form of consolation, and they were able to grab a penalty try, with Haffar paying the price with a yellow card.

But there was just a minute to go, meaning the home side would end the night with nothing, while Saints walked away with four fantastic points.

Glasgow Warriors: McKay; Cancelliere (Thompson 64), Jones, McDowall (c), Smith; Jordan, Kennedy (Afshar 40); Bhatti, Matthews (Turner 44), Z Fagerson (Sordoni 61); Manjezi, Gray; Cummings, Darge, M Fagerson.

Saints: Furbank (c); Sleightholme (Seabrook 72), Freeman, Dingwall (Litchfield 61), Hendy; F Smith, Mitchell (James 62); A Waller (Haffar 29), Langdon (R Smith 61), Hill (Davison 69); Lockett, Moon (Mayanavanua 69); Lawes, Scott-Young, Graham (Pearson 44).

Referee: Luc Ramos