Glasgow Warriors impressive win over the Stormers on Friday night capped a special fortnight for Sebastian Cancelliere.
The 30-year-old is renowned for being one of the most charismatic players in the Glasgow squad and he had an extra spring in his step this week after the birth of his first child.
Canciellere’s wife welcomed Jouquina Maria to the world last Thursday and the Argentinian winger missed Glasgow’s trip to Connacht last weekend to spend time with his family. Canciellere admits he wanted to travel to Ireland but he’s loving life as a dad, despite some sleepless nights.
“She’s Scottish - a wee ginger baby!” he proclaimed. “I’ve been trying to [get some sleep], we’re getting there. But it’s all good. We’re just trying to get into it. I didn’t go to the last game against Connacht so it was just a couple of days for me to get used to the lack of sleep. But I’m buzzing. I just go home and stare at the baby all day!
“I wanted to play against Connacht but I also had a little bit of an injury to my ankle. And also with the baby and Franco wanting to try Kyle Rowe it was a good opportunity for me to stay here. But I wanted to play again right away and get back to training.”
Cancelliere’s return coincided with a much improved performance against the Stomers as Glasgow banished the memories of the Connacht defeat. The South Africans arrived at Scotstoun sitting top of the URC but the hosts asserted their dominance in a clinical first half display.
Man-of-the-match Sione Tuipulotu scored the first try before Johnny Matthews enhanced his superb try scoring record with two. Glasgow recorded a statement win at home to the Stormers last season but despite the repeat triumph, there was slight frustration as the bonus point remained elsuive during a second half that yielded no points.
“I think yeah maybe,” Canciellere replied when asked if there was slight disappointment over the bonus point. “There were maybe lost opportunities that we created but didn’t score. That for me hurts a little bit. But you have to respect as well the other team. Stormers is a great opposition who won their first two games. So we knew it was going to be a physical battle. We prepared for that and the forwards did a great job.
“It wasn’t very pretty but every time they scored we replied instantly. There was a good reaction to the two times they kicked for the posts, right away from the kick-off we scored. That was a massive thing for us. And in defence there were one or two plays where they kept going and going and then there would be a turnover for us. Those were key moments when we were under stress. The forwards, especially, but all the team stepped up and that was a massive thing.”
Glasgow’s home form will be imperative to their ambitions this season and it was another assured performance against the Stormers. Franco Smith’s men went unbeaten at Scotstoun in the regular URC campaign last season before losing to Munster in the play-offs.
While Cancelliere recognises that Scotstoun has become a fortress, he’s determined to improve their away form - starting in Wales next Saturday.
“Scotstoun is always a special place for us but the big thing for us now is to win more on the road,” he admitted. “To be a great team you have to win consistently, not only at home but also away. We want to be one of the best teams in the competition and for that you need to win away. That’s our mindset. Next week we have a good game to try to prove that against Ospreys.”
The onus will be on Canciellere in the coming weeks at wing after captain Kyle Steyn was ruled out for around two months with an ankle injury. Glasgow are also sweating on the fitness of Scotland international Huw Jones with a specialist assessing his injury after an initial diagnosis proved inconclusive.
Kyle Rowe was handed his debut in Canciellere’s absence against Connacht and he continued against the Stormers. Canciellere was unaware of Rowe before he joined Glasgow this summer but he’s received glowing feedback.
“It’s a big loss to lose Steyno,” he admitted. “Obviously he’s our captain and an unbelievable player. So that’s going to hurt. But we have the other Kyle and many more boys who can cover. Kyle Rowe is an amazing player as well. To be honest I didn’t know him from before but some of the Argie boys who had been playing with London-Irish told me he was an incredible player and I can see that.”
