LEINSTER 55-19 GLASGOW WARRIORS
Leinster have secured themselves a home quarter final in the Champions Cup after rinsing Glasgow at The RDS.
Warriors entered today’s game as top dogs in the Guinness PRO14’s Conference A but 0-4 in Europe. Make that 0-5 after an almighty beating at the hands of Leo Cullen and Stuart Lancaster’s men.
The match was over as a contest by the 35th minute, when signing of the summer Scott Fardy got over for his first Leinster try [his side’s fourth] after a stunning bit of play from Jordan Larmour and a Jonny Sexton pass. That secured the bonus point for Leinster, who are now set to be first or second seeds for the knock-out stages.
Glasgow’s sorry defence was breached as early as the 7th minute when Jordi Murphy careened through a couple of tackle attempts and dotted down under the posts. Most in the ground – including the chap reading a Sunday broadsheet during the action – must have wondered if the Scots had the heart for a fightback but it briefly materialised when Murphy was sent to the sin-bin.
Leinster fought hard to protect their tryline but sometimes there is simply no stopping Nico Matawalu. The winger stopped on a dime and shifted to his right, side-stepping the planted Josh van der Flier to score.
That was about it from Glasgow. Isa Nacewa scored Leinster’s second and it was almost a carbon copy of Murphy’s as he ran a nice line and zoomed up through some static white jerseys to score under the sticks. 14-7 became 17-7 when Sexton added a penalty, after a beastly Robbie Henshaw tackle forced a the whistle to sing.
Sean Cronin then gave us a timely reminder of his attacking abilities to force his way over for his second try of the season. That was a big blow but Fardy’s try was fatal.
There was still time, in the half, for Sexton to start and finish a move that resulted in try number five, in the left-hand corner. The outhalf took a knock from Ali Price and Matawalu in scoring but remained on the pitch after some medical attention – no Head Injury Assessment required, nothing to see here.
Sexton emerged for the second half and played the first 10 minutes before both he and Jack McGrath were called ashore. Larmour was switched to outside centre so that Henshaw could next be rested up but there was no let-up for Glasgow.
A rolling maul, on 56 minutes, had them in all sorts of trouble but Luke McGrath retrieved the ball before the pack could rumble over and found Nacewa sprinting in to score. Ross Byrne, on for Sexton, picked up the scoring with a conversion.
Next man to generate some digital movement on the scoreboard was Warriors No.8 Adam Ashe, who kept out wide and flopped over to get his side into double figures.
James Lowe had a superb game – line breaks, defenders beaten all over the shop and 100+ metres gained – and his performance was capped with a try when McGrath and Nacewa linked up to get him a one-on-one just two yards out. His momentum and pumping legs did the rest.
Matawalu responded with a showtime score in the right-hand corner but Leinster did not berate themselves too much. The had an answer, again, when Fardy got his second after another powerful maul.
Montpellier away next weekend but plenty of thoughts are already turning to a trip to the Aviva Stadium for a quarter final on the March 30 to April 1 weekend.
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