The Bulls had been warned that they were coming to “the slaughterhouse” at Scotstoun but they emerged unscathed, winning 26-19 to move within a point of their hosts in the United Rugby Championship standings. Glasgow Warriors may have been beaten but they finished strongly to secure a precious bonus point against the South African visitors. Franco Smith’s side remain second with two rounds of fixtures remaining in the regular season but the Bulls are hot on their heels. Away games against Benetton and Leinster await Glasgow while the Bulls are at home to Cardiff and the Dragons. Whoever finishes second will have home advantage in the play-off semi-finals, should they qualify. A bit of a grudge had built up around this fixture after Glasgow defeated the Bulls 21-16 in last season’s URC final in Pretoria. Jake White, the Bulls’ World Cup-winning coach, said the date of the rematch had been “written on the wall” since pre-season. He then rowed back, shutting down all talk of revenge. But this would have been a highly satisfying night for White. His team blunted Glasgow’s formidable attack, were ferocious in defence and, in Johan Goosen, they had a deadly accurate goalkicker who could punish their opponents’ indiscipline. Goosen landed four penalties and converted both Bulls tries, by Johann Grobbelaar and David Kriel. The game slipped away from Glasgow in the fatal third quarter. They conceded 20 unanswered points from the end of the first half to the midpoint of the second but they finished with a flourish and the late tries from Kyle Steyn and Stafford McDowall could prove crucial in the final reckoning. The Warriors actually outscored the visits by three tries to two, with Jamie Dobie touching down in the first half. It wasn’t enough, however, and George Horne conceded there is much work still to be done. “It was a massively physical game and fair play to them, they put in a lot of big shots,” said the Warriors scrum-half who kicked two conversions. “We're still one point ahead. Massive two games coming up, we'll do our best to win both of them and then see what happens. We're guaranteed a quarter here at Scotstoun. After that, anything can happen. “We'll have to get a lot better. We showed tonight that we're not as good as some people think we are. A lot of work to be done.” Glasgow were largely frustrated during an attritional opening half. They had to wait until the 35th minute for the game’s opening try but even that wasn’t enough to give them the half-time lead. Goosen, with three first-half penalties, made sure it was the visitors who were ahead at the break, 9-7. Whether that was a fair reflection of the opening 40 minutes was open to debate. Glasgow were the team trying to play the most rugby but they found themselves running into something akin to a brick wall. The tackling was fierce. Canan Moodie almost chopped Sebastian Cancelliere in half at one point but Wilco Louw took it too far in the 26th minute when he led with his shoulder into the head of Patrick Schickerling. Louw got away with a yellow card and the Bulls prop at least had the decency to apologise to Schickerling as the Glasgow loosehead went off for an HIA. Happily, he was able to return. The Bulls were already 6-0 ahead by that point, courtesy of Goosen’s boot. Gregor Brown had to go off after 24 minutes and Kyle Rowe made way for Dobie 10 minutes later. The substitute’s impact was immediate. With Louw still in the sin-bin, the Warriors won a series of penalties and kicked to the corner. The ball was worked wide, with McDowall’s looped pass finding Dobie in the corner to score. It looked forward and referee Andrew Brace checked it on the big screen. Fortunately for Glasgow, the pass had deflected off the hand of Moodie so the try was good. Horne nailed the conversion but Glasgow’s lead was short-lived as Goosen put over his third penalty in the 39th minute. Things quickly unravelled for the Warriors in the second half. Jordan missed touch with a penalty which would have taken Glasgow up to the Bulls line and worse was to follow for the stand-off as the home side conceded 20 points in a row. Johann Grobbelaar scored the Bulls’ second try, peaking off the side of a lineout maul and forcing his way past Jordan, McDowall and Sione Vailanu. Goosen converted then added a fourth penalty to stretch the Bulls’ lead to 19-7. Jordan then endured his horror moment. A long, speculative punt upfield from Sebastian de Klerk should have been dealt with by the fly-half but he seemed sluggish to the ball and dithered long enough for de Klerk to rob him on the floor and pop the ball up for the supporting Kriel to score. Goosen converted and Glasgow were trailing 26-7 going into the final quarter. But this team are fighters and they scored two late tries to secure a losing bonus point and lift the Scotstoun crowd. Captain Steyn got the first, after slick passing from Adam Hastings and Ollie Smith. Horne couldn’t convert that one but he made sure a couple of minutes later. The Warriors’ final try was scored by McDowall after a brilliant break by Smith. Horne’s conversion meant Glasgow kept their noses in front of the Bulls in the standings.