Leinster 23
Glasgow Warriors 18
LEINSTER PRODUCED THE goods when it mattered most to maintain their dominance of recent years over Glasgow Warriors.
Leinster did not hit the front until the final quarter but the binning of big Glasgow winger Taqele Naiyaravoro was decisive.
He was adjudged to have deliberately knocked the ball dead with his hand as he chased a ball to his own line with Fergus McFadden.
Referee Ian Davies dished out a yellow card and awarded a penalty try which tied the sides before McFadden tapped over the conversion to lead for the first time.
He closed out the win in the dying moments with his second penalty.
The champions did most of the running early on and deservedly led 13-6 at the break.
Early pressure yielded a try from tighthead Zander Fagerson after 14 minutes when the Scottish U20 international squeezed over.
Duncan Weir added the extras but Leinster hit back almost immediately and reduced the gap when McFadden landed a couple of penalties.
Weir extended Glasgow’s lead but their hopes of only their third win in the last eleven contests against Leinster suffered a blow just before the break when hooker Pat MacArthur was binned for a reckless tackle on his counterpart Aaron Dundon when he caught him high.
Leinster made the most of their extra man three minutes after the restart when they went to the corner with a penalty and scrum-half Luke McGrath sniped over. McFadden added the conversion to tie the game.
The Glasgow response was impressive with Naiyaravoro using all of his huge frame to burst through three tackles to score.
But his binning was the opening Leinster looked for and Leo Cullen’s men finished strongly to seal their third win.
Scorers: Leinster: L McGrath try, penalty try; F McFadden 3 pens, 2 cons. Glasgow: Z Fagerson, T Naiyaravoro tries; D Weir 2 pens, con.
Leinster: I Nacewa; G Ringrose, B Te’o, N Reid, F McFadden; C Marsh, L McGrath (I Boss 58); M Bent (P Dooley 50), A Dundon (J Tracy 40+3), M Moore (T Furlong 50); R Molony, M McCarthy; R Ruddock (D Ryan 70), J van der Flier, J Conan.
Replacements: J Tracy (for Dundon, 40+3); T Furlong (for Moore, 50); P Dooley (for Bent, 50); I Boss (for McGrath, 58); C Kelleher (for Nacewa, 75).
Glasgow Warriors: S Lamont; T Naiyaravoro, R Vernon, F Lyle, R Hughes; D Weir, M Blair (G Hart 69); A Allan (J Yanuyanutawa 68), P MacArthur (K Bryce 58), Z Fagerson (M Cusack 58); T Swinson (A Ashe 28), S Cummings (G Peterson 71); R Harley, S Favaro (H Blake 50), R Wilson.
Replacements: A Ashe (for Swinson, 28); K Bryce (for McArthur, 58); H Blake (for Favaro, 50); J Yanuyanutawa (for Allan, 68); G Hart (for Blair, 69); G Perterson (for Cummings, 71)
Referee: Ian Davies (WRU).