Leinster 76
Glasgow Warriors 14
FOR ALL OF of 14 minutes, Glasgow threatened to make this United Rugby Championship quarter-final interesting.
After a strong start the visitors led Leinster 7-0, Zander Fagerson crossing for a try which was just reward for their early dominance. They couldn’t, could they?
It quickly became apparent that there was to be no upset on the cards as Leinster stormed to a 76-14 win which sets up a semi-final clash against the Bulls at the RDS next Friday night.
However in those opening stages, it very much felt like the morning after the night before for a Leinster side who this day last week, came agonisingly close to capturing a fifth European title.
Glasgow played all the rugby and enjoyed all the territory, camped inside the Leinster 22 in scenes reminiscent of those closing 10 minutes in Marseille.
Just four minutes were on the clock when Fagerson burrowed under Andrew Porter to put Glasgow ahead, an interesting twist at the start of a game that always threatened to be a tricky proposition for Leinster, a crowd just north of 9,000 a disappointing turnout for a knock-out fixture.
The concession of a penalty at the first scrum of the day added to the early sense of unease as Leinster struggled to settle into the contest.
Then just like that, the game flipped. During a congested passage of play on the left wing, Glasgow lock Richie Gray sent an elbow crashing into the face of Jamison Gibson-Park. The crowd wanted red, but referee Andrea Piardi opted for yellow.
Leinster would hit Glasgow for three tries while Gray watched on from the sideline.
Dan Sheehan was first over the line for the hosts, powering over from a strong driving maul on with the first passage of play following Gray’s exit.
And if that first score was all about power, the second was about speed. Jordan Larmour – a man perhaps lucky to miss out in Marseille last weekend – picked the ball up in his own half and sensed opportunity from a situation few others on the pitch would have fancied.
With one quick flash of those electric feet he was past three Glasgow defenders and deep in the Warriors half. The move almost broke down as Larmour attempted to play in Gibson-Park, but the wing was able to regather the loose ball and ensure his hard work didn’t go to waste.
In all aspects of the play, Leinster were now totally dominant as their scrum began to get the upper hand and passes started to stick.
Just a few short minutes later, 21-year-old lock Joe McCarthy was in for their third, finishing from close range and getting the rub of the green with a knock-on call, the ball knocked out of his hand by a Glasgow hand before moving forward. Ross Byrne added his third conversion of the day and Leinster were 21-7 up with 25 minutes played, one foot firmly in next weekend’s semi-finals.
Gray then returned to the action to restore Glasgow to their full complement but the damage had been done, and Leinster continued to toy with a laboured looking Warriors.
Larmour did brilliantly to rip the ball from Gregor Brown as the Glasgow flanker thought he was over for their second try of the afternoon before the hosts added their fourth, Sheehan powering over from a bulldozing Leinster maul. Byrne’s conversion struck the post as Leinster went in at the break 26-7 up.
Glasgow need a response, but the second half proved to be desperately one-sided for a what should have been a competitive playoff game.
It took just two minutes for Caelan Doris to run-in Leinster’s fifth try, the number eight beating the last defender with ease after some good work by the Leinster pack to create the space.
Byrne added the conversion before Leinster saw Tadhg Furlong make an early exit after receiving some treatment on the pitch.
His replacement, Michael Ala’alatoa had a try to his name with three minutes, the tighthead stretching over after another strong series of carries.
Larmour must have felt a little left out between all the close-contact rugby because the winger then exploded into life again to set-up a quick-fire double.
First he broke free and linked-up nicely with Gibson-Park to send the scrum-half clean through – following good work from Frawley – before bursting down the same right wing to feed Garry Ringrose, Byrne converting Gibson-Park’s score before finding the post again following Ringrose’s.
Leinster head coach Leo Cullen then emptied his bench as Glasgow finally landed another punch, Kiran McDonald producing a strong carry before finding fellow replacement George Horne, with Thompson converting.
It was a brief spark of life from Glasgow as Leinster went up the other end and sent Larmour over, the most dangerous player on the pitch finding himself in acres of space and crossing untroubled, Byrne’s conversion sailing wildly wide as Leinster took a 57-14 lead into the closing 15 minutes.
The tries kept coming, Frawley intercepting a loose Ollie Smith pass to run in under the posts, handing Harry Byrne the simplest of tasks for his first conversion of the day.
Within a minute Luke McGrath was under the posts for try number 11 following a lovely dummy from Harry Byrne, who added the conversion as a woefully one-sided contest became farcical. With 10 minutes still to play, the scoreboard now read 71-14 in Leinster’s favour, a bad look for a playoff game at this stage of the season.
With the game long beyond doubt, Leinster’s workrate remained exceptional, Frawley chasing down Jack Dempsey as the Glasgow backrow broke clear from the halfway line.
When it’s not your day, it’s not your day. In the far corner, the lively Jimmy O’Brien skipped inside to add a 12th try for Leinster.
Leo Cullen wanted a response, and he got it in some style. Europe may have slipped past Leinster again this season, but the charge for a fifth straight league title remains fully on course.
Leinster scorers:
Try – Sheehan (2), Larmour (2), McCarty, Sheehan, Ala’alatoa, Gibson-Park, Ringrose, Frawley, McGrath O’Brien.
Penalties – R Byrne [7/9], H Byrne [2/3]
Conversions – R Byrne [7/9], H Byrne [2/3]
Glasgow scorers:
Try – Fagerson
Conversion – Thompson [1/1]
LEINSTER: Jimmy O’Brien; Jordan Larmour, Garry Ringrose (Robbie Henshaw, 59), Ciarán Frawley, Rory O’Loughlin; Ross Byrne (Harry Byrne 67), Jamison Gibson-Park (Luke McGrath, 59); Andrew Porter (Cian Healy, 59), Dan Sheehan (Seán Cronin, 59), Tadhg Furlong (Michael Ala’alatoa, 44); Joe McCarthy, James Ryan (captain) (Ross Molony, 59); Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier (Jack Conan, 60), Caelan Doris.
GLASGOW WARRIORS: Ollie Smith; Josh McKay, Sione Tuipulotu, Sam Johnson, Rufus McLean; Ross Thompson (Domingo Miotti, 69), Ali Price (George Horne, 51); Jamie Bhatti (Oli Kebble, 51), George Turner (Fraser Brown 41), Zander Fagerson (Simon Berghan, 51); Rob Harley (Lewis Bean 55), Richie Gray; Ryan Wilson (captain) (Kiran McDonald 55), Gregor Brown, Jack Dempsey.
Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR)
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