It says much that it took Exeter until 35 minutes before they finally launched a sustained assault on Glasgow’s line after Joe Simmonds kicked a penalty into Warriors’ 22. Usually the Chiefs are ruthless in the redzone but, in young openside Rory Darge, Glasgow had the most effective player at the breakdown – indeed, probably the game’s best player – and eventually he managed to force a knock-on just as it looked as if the visiting forwards were set to muscle over.

Instead, it was Glasgow who ended the half on the front foot as Turner charged free from a ruck and would have gone over but for a last-ditch tackle from wing Tom O’Flaherty which hauled him down two feet short. Glasgow had, however, won a penalty just inside the Chiefs’ 22 but decided to kick to the corner, only for their lineout drive to spill the ball.

In a match of so few chances it seemed profligate and, immediately after the break, Glasgow spurned another chance when Thompson’s penalty after some excellent carrying and offloading from the home forwards came back off a post. No matter, just two minutes later the Chiefs infringed again and this time Thompson made no mistake from 40 yards.

After dominating both possession and territory before the break Glasgow were good value for their 6-0 lead, and when loosehead Oli Kebble came on after 50 minutes they immediately won a scrum penalty which Thompson duly kicked. When Glasgow won another scrum penalty moments later, which Thompson again kicked, the home side were two scores ahead.

A strangely lacklustre Exeter rallied briefly after making four substitutions on the hour, yet on a rare foray into Glasgow’s 22 they knocked on again and the Warriors added insult to injury by winning another scrum penalty.

By now Scotstoun was rocking and Exeter were reeling. Yet the Devonians are made of tough stuff, and with 10 minutes remaining Sam Simmonds went over after a series of forward drives, his younger brother Joe converting. But Glasgow were in no mood to be denied, and Thompson kicked a fifth penalty from almost halfway after yet another breakdown penalty before, with one minute to go, they had the last word when hooker Johnny Matthews was driven over from a lineout. It was no less than they deserved.

Match details

Scorers: pen Thompson 3-0; pen Thompson 6-0; pen Thompson 9-0; pen Thompson 12-0; try S Simmonds 12-5; con J Simmonds 12-7; pen Thompson 15-7; try Matthews 20-7; con Thompson 22-7.

Glasgow Warriors: J McKay; K Steyn, S Tuipulotu, S Johnson, C Forbes; R Thompson (D Weir, 77), A Price (capt (G Horne, 77); J Bhatti (O Kebble, 51), G Turner (J Matthews, 51), Z Fagerson (E Pieretto, 65), S Cummings, R Gray (K McDonald, 57), M Fagerson (R Harley, 73), R Darge (T Gordon, 72), J Dempsey.

Exeter Chiefs: S Hogg; J Nowell, H Slade, I Whitten (T Hendrickson, 59), T O’Flaherty; J Simmonds, J Maunder (S Maunder, 59); A Hepburn (B Moon, 59), L Cowan-Dickie (capt (J Yeandle 65)), S Nixon (P Schickerling, 50), J Gray (D Armand, 65), J Hill (J Kirsten, 59), D Ewers, S Skinner, S Simmonds,

Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)

Attendance: 7,246