GLASGOW captain Jonny Gray hailed a “very, very special” feat, after the Warriors reached the European Champions Cup quarter-finals.
Not only are they through to the last eight, but they got there in remarkable fashion by crushing two-time European champions Leicester 43-0 at Welford Road on Saturday.
It was the first time since 1978 that the English side had failed to score a point in a home match, their heaviest European defeat anywhere, and their biggest loss since Bath thrashed them 45-0 in September 2014. Not since the Barbarians battered Leicester 73-19 in March 1998 had one of English rugby’s heavyweight clubs been floored so spectacularly on home soil during its 137-year history.
“That was something very, very special,” said Gray, whose rampant Warriors side ran in six tries to claim a top-flight European knockout place for the first time.
“Reaching the quarter-finals is something the guys have been working hard to achieve.
“It has been a long-time goal. Qualifying is not just for the guys who played but for the guys who played in the years before – people like former captain Al Kellock – and all the fans who came down.
“It was a special feeling and I am proud to make history.
It was a team performance. Everybody did their job really well. All credit to our guys, who stuck to our game-plan and did their job.
“For it to come together is special. We are proud to have qualified for everybody involved with the club now as well as in the past.”
Glasgow can now set their sights on Saracens, and even though they will be away from home, hopes of further progression in the tournament cannot be discounted.
Warriors head coach Gregor Townsend said: “April is a couple of months away.
“We will be playing away, but we should take confidence from beating two excellent teams away from home in Racing 92 and Leicester in the pool.
“I would like to think we will be in a very good position to give it a crack.”
Glasgow shipped 90 points when they faced Leicester in a European quarter-final play-off game at Welford Road 19 years ago.
The Scottish side’s thumping triumph on Saturday – coupled to Edinburgh’s successful progression to the last eight of the Challenge Cup, following a 49-3 win over Timisoara Saracens on Friday – appears to be indicative of a growing confidence within the Scottish game.
Townsend will soon be at the heart of that, since the coach will leave Scotstoun at the end of the season to take charge of the national team.
The 43-year-old is naturally optimistic about the future of rugby in this country. “It’s a great end to the chapter, from where Scottish rugby started in professional rugby and where it is today,” Townsend said.
“Something like 20 years ago, Glasgow were conceding 90 points, and 10 years ago, there wasn’t that much hope in the future.
“Now, we’ve got a situation where we’ve had a huge number of fans down at Leicester and the team winning, and Edinburgh got a great crowd on Friday night, so it has been a weekend we will all remember.”
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