Leinster 37 Glasgow 19
The future of Leinster in terms of on-field credibility has been somewhat restored since the mauling by Northampton less than a month ago in the Champions Cup - however they will need to win this Saturday’s match at Croker against South African giants the Bulls if they are to look other clubs in the eye as they seek to make amends for a number of past calamitous collapses next year.
This time around, the Warriors were anything but as after an early try, they had nothing to offer and only got in for two consolation touchdowns when the verdict had long been decided in Leinster’s favor.
The home side lined out in front of a disappointing 15,762 attendance at the Aviva Stadium and established a 20-point lead by half-time thanks to well-worked touchdowns from Lions hooker Dan Sheehan (2), centre Jamie Osborne and tight-head prop Thomas Clarkson.
They kept the pace going for much of the second half with the impressive Osborne and unfortunate substitute Ciarán Frawley getting in on the try scoring act to put their team out of sight.
Leo Cullen's team have lost at this stage over the past three seasons and now that monkey is off their back. They must beat the Bulls, who saw off their fellow countrymen the Sharks 25-13, if they want to get their hands on their first trophy in four seasons.
After the win, Leinster head coach Leo Cullen said: "We reacted really well to Glasgow's early score. I think we managed the game and the conditions very well. It's all about getting through no matter how we did it, but we made the right decisions throughout the game. We prepared well this week and we will do so again this week.”
Explained Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith: "They (Leinster) are a quality outfit and brought a huge performance. I felt their urgency and they put pressure on us. On the day, we were not good enough, especially in the first half. We should have started better and then we wouldn't have had to chase the game. I don't think the strategy was wrong, they are good at the aerial battle, but I am really proud. We had a lot of boys unavailable this week. I must look at the big picture. It was a tough task to come here and win."
Leinster: J O'Brien; T O'Brien, J Osborne, J Barrett, J Lowe; S Prendergast, J Gibson-Park; A Porter, D Sheehan, T Clarkson, J McCarthy, J Ryan, R Baird, S Penny, J Conan (capt) Replacements: R Kelleher, J Boyle, R Slimani, RG Snyman, M Deegan, L McGrath, R Byrne, C Frawley.
Leinster Tries: Sheehan 2, Osborne 2, Clarkson, Frawley Con: Prendergast 2 Pen: Prendergast 1
Glasgow Warriors (5) 19. Tries: Horne, Dobie, Tuipulotu Con: Jordan 2
