Glasgow Warriors 19
Leinster 32
MAGNIFICENT LEINSTER EXTENDED their winning run in the Guinness PRO14 to 22 games as a powerhouse first-half performance laid the groundwork for a bonus point win at the home of Glasgow Warriors.
The Irish province may have been missing players on international duty but they still had far too much power in the tight and at the breakdown, where skipper Rhys Ruddock ruled supreme. The Scots managed three tries but never threatened to steal the result.
Though it was the pack who were to make the difference, it was fullback Jimmy O’Brien who got the scoring under way when he popped up on the shoulder of Harry Byrne, the fly-half, to take the offload and skip in for a try under the posts that set the ball rolling.
Glasgow hit back through a score from George Horne but Leinster were dominating up front and went back into the lead when Byrne took advantage of poor home discipline to land a penalty and then Luke McGrath, the scum half, reacted first to a penalty five metres out to take a tap and dash in for the score.
When flanker Scott Penny broke from a maul to power over for the third score before the break, Leinster were well on their way to the points they needed and not even conceding a score soon after the break to D’Arcy Rae, the prop, was enough to derail them.
Glasgow were man down after the home side offended yet again defending a break from Rory O’Loughlin and from the penalty Leinster took full advantage as Michael Bent, the prop, picked up the bonus point try with a quarter of the match still to go.
As the replacements started to flood on, Glasgow came into the game more. And after a high tackle from Cian Kelleher earned him a spell in the sin bin, the Scots piled on the pressure to claim a third try, coming form a maul with Tom Gordon, the flanker, touching down.
And they finished with more pressure but the Leinster defence held firm to deny them another score and the chance of losing bonus points.
Glasgow Warriors: Tries: George Horne (16), D’Arcy Rae (41), Tom Gordon (72).
Conversions: Peter Horne [2 from 3]
Leinster: Tries: Jimmy O’Brien (10), Luke McGrath (27), Scott Penny (36), Michael Bent (53)
Conversions: Ross Byrne [3 from 4]
Penalties: Ross Byrne [21, 76]
Glasgow Warriors: Huw Jones (sin bin: 52-62); Tommy Seymour (Ratu Tagive, 71), Nick Grigg, Sam Johnson, Niko Matawalu; Pete Horne (Brandon Thomson, 67), George Horne (Jamie Dobie, 71); Aki Seiuli (Alex Allan, 54), Grant Stewart (George Turner, 54), D’Arcy Rae (Enrique Pieretto, 54), Rob Harley, Hamish Bain, Ryan Wilson (C) (Chris Fusaro, 63), Tom Gordon , TJ Ioane (Fotu Lokotui, 63).
Leinster: Jimmy O’Brien (David Hawkshaw, 71); Cian Kelleher (sin bin: 71-end), Rory O’Loughlin, Tommy O’Brien, Dave Kearney, Harry Byrne, Luke McGrath (Hugh O’Sullivan, 76); Peter Dooley (Michael Milne, 54), James Tracy (Dan Sheehan, 54), Michael Bent (Tom Clarkson, 60); Ross Molony (Scott Fardy, 60), Devin Toner, Josh Murphy, Scott Penny, Rhys Ruddock (C)(Dan Leavy, 60).
Referee: B Whitehouse (Wales)