Leinster 13

Glasgow Warriors 5

Daire Walsh reports from the Aviva Stadium

IT WAS A largely forgettable affair played in front of 17,654 spectators, but Leinster ultimately closed out their United Rugby Championship regular season campaign with a victory over Glasgow Warriors at the Aviva Stadium this evening.

Whereas they amassed eight tries on their way to securing a 52-0 triumph at the expense of Glasgow in a European Champions Cup quarter-final at the same venue on 11 April, on this occasion a single effort by Jimmy O’Brien was complemented by a combined eight points from the boots of Sam Prendergast and Ciaran Frawley to ensure Leinster got over the line in an underwhelming spectacle.

A much-discussed penultimate round defeat to Northampton Saints in Europe’s top-tier a fortnight ago in the Aviva means the URC is the only remaining shot at silverware for the eastern province in the 2024/25 season, but Leo Cullen’s men were already assured of finishing top of the regular season table coming into this game.

Guaranteed of a top-four spot, reigning URC champions Glasgow were hoping to avoid dropping below third in the competition’s standings and their fly-half Adam Hastings was unfortunate to see his 10th minute penalty rebounding off the left-hand post before drifting away to safety.

Having initially struggled to establish an attacking platform, Leinster slowly gained a foothold inside the Glasgow half either side of the first-quarter mark.

They appeared to have broken the deadlock when Jimmy O’Brien gathered and subsequently crossed over in the left-corner via Sam Prendergast’s audacious crossfield delivery from an attacking penalty – as everyone was expecting the Ireland international to boot the ball to the right-corner – but this score was ultimately ruled out due to the kick being taken from the wrong spot.

Yet this was only a temporary respite for Glasgow as a ‘tap and go’ penalty by scrum-half Fintan Gunne on 27 minutes set the wheels in motion for Prendergast to put through his fellow Kildare native O’Brien for another finish on the left-flank – only this time it counted.

A 27th try from the latter on his 99th provincial appearance was supplemented by Prendergast’s touchline conversion, but after the same player dropped a long-distance penalty short of the target, Leinster had to be content with a 7-0 lead at the end of a largely uneventful opening period.

Although the hosts suffered a blow when Robbie Henshaw was replaced in the 22nd minute – Jamie Osborne took his place beside Jordie Barrett in the Leinster midfield – Glasgow withdrew Scottish centre Sione Tuipulotu at the midway point of his first competitive outing since January.

A couple of excellent breaks from the in-form Tommy O’Brien injected some much-needed life into the Leinster attack on the resumption, albeit handling errors were making it difficult for them to create sustained momentum.

Sam Prendergast dropped the ball as he attempted to touch down in the left-corner on 48 minutes and blindside flanker Ryan Baird knocked on when he was in an advanced position on the far flank moments later.

As the third-quarter wore on, both Cullen and his Glasgow counterpart Franco Smith opted to throw a plethora of replacements into the mix. Despite Leinster increasing their advantage with a routine Prendergast penalty, it was arguably the visitors who enjoyed the greater immediate impact from their bench.

After full-back Kyle Rowe chipping the ball deep into the Leinster half, winger Sebastian Cancelliere kicked the ball along the ground and the onrushing George Horne – with virtually his first involvement after entering the fray instead of scrum-half Ben Afshar – was ideally placed to dot down beyond the whitewash.

Even though Hastings dragged his bonus kick wide of the target, this did leave the tie delicately poised moving into the final-quarter. However, Glasgow never looked like cutting any further into their deficit and while Leinster surprisingly couldn’t add a second try, a late penalty from Frawley put the seal on their 16th league win of the season.

Thanks to results across the weekend, Leinster will now face Scarlets – one of only two teams to defeat them in the current edition of the competition – in a URC quarter-final at the Aviva on Saturday, 31 May. For Glasgow, a home encounter against 2021/22 champions DHL Stormers awaits them in the last-eight.

Scorers for Leinster

Tries – Jimmy O’Brien

Conversions – Sam Prendergast [1/1]

Penalties – Sam Prendergast [1/2], Ciaran Frawley [1/1]

Scorers for Glasgow Warriors:

Tries – George Horne

Conversions – Adam Hastings [0/1]

Penalties – Adam Hastings [0/1]

LEINSTER: Hugo Keenan; Tommy O’Brien, Robbie Henshaw (Jamie Osborne ’22), Jordie Barrett, Jimmy O’Brien; Sam Prendergast (Ciaran Frawley ’61), Fintan Gunne (Luke McGrath ’51); Andrew Porter (Jack Boyle ’51), Dan Sheehan (Ronan Kelleher ’51), Thomas Clarkson; RG Snyman, James Ryan (Diarmuid Mangan ’80); Ryan Baird, Scott Penny, Jack Conan (Max Deegan ’61).

GLASGOW WARRIORS: Kyle Rowe; Sebastian Cancelliere, Huw Jones, Sione Tuipulotu (Tom Jordan half-time), Kyle Steyn; Adam Hastings, Ben Afshar (George Horne ’55); Jamie Bhatti (Nathan McBeth ’55), Seb Stephen (Gregor Hiddleston ’64), Fin Richardson (Murphy Walker ’55); Jare Oguntibeju (Scott Cummings ’71), Alex Samuel (JP Du Preez ’43); Macenzzie Duncan (Stafford McDowall ’55), Rory Darge, Euan Ferrie.

Referee: Ben Whitehouse (WRU).