| Glasgow Warriors 19 (7) |
| Try: G Horne, Rae, Gordon Con: P Horne (2) |
| Leinster 32 (22) |
| Tries: J O’Brien, McGrath, Penny, Bent Cons: Byrne (3) Pen: Byrne (2) |
Glasgow Warriors failed to halt formidable Leinster from securing a 23rd successive Pro14 win as the defending champions eased to victory.
Tries from Jimmy O’Brien, Luke McGrath and Scott Penny put the Irish side firmly in control at the break.
D’arcy Rae added to George Horne’s earlier effort to cut the gap but Michael Bent dived over to secure the bonus-point in the second-half.
Tom Gordon’s try proved a consolation for the home side at Scotstoun.
The win keeps Leinster top of Conference A with four wins from four, while Warriors have just one victory so far from the same number of games and sit fourth out of six teams.
Relentless Leinster
These sides are generally the hardest hit when it comes to the number of players lost to international duty, but while Glasgow’s squad is thinner than it has been for a number of seasons, Leinster’s depth is the reason they have been untouchable for two seasons in the Pro14.
Their efficiency in attack is a sight to behold and in the first half they came away with points from almost every visit to Glasgow’s 22.
O’Brien sauntered in from inside the 22 after latching on to Harry Byrne’s offload on the visitors’ first visit, Byrne added a penalty on their second, and McGrath’s quick tap and lunge resulted in their second try on their third trip deep into enemy territory.
Horne’s 16th-minute try briefly levelled the match at 7-7, but Glasgow were overpowered on all fronts, demonstrated perfectly when Penny rumbled over at the back of a driving maul to ensure Leinster led 22-7 at the break.
Glasgow response futile
Glasgow’s response at the start of the second-half was exactly what head coach Danny Wilson will have asked for.
Out with a renewed vigour, a line-break by Niko Matawalu set up a run of effective phases, which resulted in Rae battering over for his first score for the Warriors after just two minutes into the new half. Pete Horne’s conversion narrowed the gap to eight points.
But their resistance was fleeting, as Huw Jones was sent to the sin-bin for an illegal intervention on his own try line after Rory O’Loughlin’s searing break, and Michael Bent smashed his way over from the resulting penalty to secure a bonus point for Leinster.
Despite hauling themselves into good positions, Glasgow failed to turn possession and territory into points until Gordon’s finish from a maul with eight minutes left.
That came too little too late, as Byrne knocked over a late penalty to end with a 12-point haul and continue Leinster’s frightening run.
Glasgow Warriors: Aki Seiuli, Grant Stewart, D’arcy Rae, Rob Harley, Hamish Bain, Ryan Wilson, Tom Gordon, TJ Ioane, George Horne, Pete Horne, Niko Matawalu, Sam Johnson, Nick Grigg, Tommy Seymour, Huw Jones,
Replacements: George Turner, Alex Allan, Enrique Pieretto, Chris Fusaro, Fotu Lokotui, Jamie Dobie, Brandon Thomson, Ratu Tagive.
Leinster: Jimmy O’Brien, Cian Kelleher, Rory O’Loughlin, Tommy O’Brien, Dave Kearney, Harry Byrne, Luke McGrath, Peter Dooley, James Tracy, Michael Bent, Ross Molony, Devin Toner, Josh Murphy, Scott Penny, Rhys Ruddock.
Replacements: Dan Sheehan, Michael Milne, Tom Clarkson, Jack Dunne, Scott Fardy, Hugh O’Sullivan, David Hawkshaw, Dan Leavy.
Article courtesy of BBC Sport
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