One for all.....

During the first half, Warriors centre Graeme Morrison chased a kick which Wasps eventually cleared - only there were some afters.

Keen no doubt to preserve the sullied image of English rugby (which the likes of Bath and Harlequins have done their utmost to blacken) Wasps decided to get on the 'stupid prat' version of rugby which certain figures south of the Tweed seem keen to enhance.

Wasps prop Tim Payne decided he was going to chuck his weight at Morrison - and here's the good bit - but only deciding to throw a few punches at the Scotland international whilst a fellow team-mate held him back.

Hands up all those who thought English rugby was hard? Hands up if you still believe that myth? Thought so. Payne took the 'chicken's way out' by employing a hired goon to aid him in battering an opponent with less beef than him.

Only, Morrison's gang is bigger than Payne's. As soon as this was spotted, the whole Glasgow team ran en masse to sort the Wasp pleb out. Leading the charge was skipper Al Kellock who at six foot nine is quite an imposing sight.

Rumours that a la ex-Lions captain Willie John MacBride that big Al shouted out "99" are as yet unconfirmed (as are the rumours of Payne's white shorts turning into a different colour) but this signalled the start that maybe, our Warriors have at last become fearsome.

A major complaint over the years with Glasgow is the team - with its varying personnel - being beaten up in the contact area.

Time and again we have been treated to an opposing pack steam-rollering the Warriors with such ease that one must have thought the SRU put in the following advertisement for the pack:-

WANTED: props, hookers, locks and back-row forwards
REQUIREMENT: Must be made of balsa wood

The "99" tribute act aside, the Glasgow pack let their Wasps counterparts - no mugs in the ruck and maul department themselves - that they would be the playground bullies in this game.

Star battering ram was young prop John Welsh who has been tipped by West of Scotland coach John Beattie (you may remember him cleaning out England's Maurice Colclough in the legendary thrashing of '86) for great things.

Welsh of course, in a match for West, broke his leg but still played on for 10 minutes thinking he'd just bashed it.

Described as a 'weights junkie' by Warriors boss Sean Lineen, Welsh could easily pass off as a nightclub bouncer (albeit with 99 per cent of brain cells in tact - see broken leg story above for the missing one per cent) and certainly said to Wasps with his display: "No entry son - those jeans are casual".

We await his progress against other props this season but the term "you've just been Welshed" could well be a common saying by Christmas.

The backs seemed more eager to put in a shift too - the hits Morrison made (no doubt peeved at his earlier mugging) along with new signing Peter Murchie indicated a more solid looking defence. Although the proof in the pudding will be when they face the likes of Brian O'Driscoll & Co later on this season, it is an encouraging sign.

Another flicker that burned brightly was comeback king Dan Parks.

The fly-half has copped all sorts since using his maternal grandparent claim to play for Scotland all those years ago with performances for both club and country ranging from sublime to average to duck for cover.

Coming on for young pretender Ruaridh Jackson (who had looked a bit nervy - probably because his enriched honeymoon period is now over) Parks sporting a blonde barnet (a result from a 'seemed a good idea at the time' jape to wash his hair with lemon juice) came on and showed his inventive side.

Parks has on occasion shown a superb piece of imagination to produce a score but has used this tool sparingly for some unexplained reason.

It appears that Lineen has ordered him to throw the shackles off and express himself more. Twice he produced a quick bit of thinking which nearly produced tries. The second was a sublime diagonal kick which made you wish it had fallen to Thom Evans instead of hooker Pat McArthur who to be fair spends as much time on the wing as an Eskimo does in the Sahara.

Parks can still get himself back in contention as a major player - after all, Phil Godman has done little to suggest that the Scotland 10 jersey is his sole property. It is still up for grabs but only Dan himself can win it. Although it seems that he already knows this.

It was fitting in a way that Parks kicked the winning points over one of England's top sides and Warriors fans hope this new, mean, lean, more creative Glasgow can have them punching their weight at the right end of the Magner's League.