Comment: Glasgow Warriors must ask more questions of Connacht

Asemi-final can be a tense affair, more nerve-racking than a final. Glasgow’s visit to Galway for their last league match two weeks ago was actually a bit like a preliminary semi. Both teams knew that victory would secure them a home tie in the real semi, and, while it might be an exaggeration to say that Glasgow froze, there were signs that players weren’t thinking as clearly as they usually do. Well, they’ve had a fortnight to brood and learn the lessons. They seemed to be taken aback by the ferocity of Connacht’s rush defence, players in midfield often receiving ball and tackler simultaneously. When Finn Russell tried a couple of times to chip the ball behind this advancing defensive line, the idea was good, but the execution wasn’t quite right. One had the suspicion that, on a few occasions, that the Connacht midfield started from an offside position, but this is quite usual nowadays. Referees, generally alert to the possibility of offside near the breakdown, don’t seem to police the midfield as strictly.
In self-defence they might observe that they don’t have eyes in the back of their head. They do, however, have assistants on the touchline who are in the best position to spot offside in midfield. There’s little point in legislators issuing decrees about offside if match officials pay as little heed to this as referees almost invariably do to that other law which declares that the ball must be put in straight at the scrum.