Leinster dig out win over battling Glasgow to set up quarter-final against Scarlets
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 on Saturday.
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 April 11, on this occasion a single effort from 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 the European Champions Cup a fortnight ago at the Aviva Stadium 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 Hasting 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.
Leinster appeared to have broken the deadlock as Jimmy O’Brien gathered and subsequently crossed over in the left-corner via an audacious Sam Prendergast crossfield delivery from an attacking penalty, but this score was ultimately ruled out due to the Ireland international taking his kick 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.
While a 27th try from the latter on his 99th provincial appearance was supplemented by Prendergast’s touchline conversion, 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 in midfield – a couple of excellent breaks from the in-form Tommy O’Brien injected some much-needed life into the Leinster attack on the resumption.
Handling errors were making it difficult for them to create sustained momentum, however, and Prendergast was guilty of dropping the ball as he attempted to touch down on 48 minutes.
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 for an unconverted score.
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, May 31.
: H Keenan; T O’Brien, R Henshaw (J Osborne 22), J Barrett, J O’Brien; S Prendergast (C Frawley 61), F Gunne (L McGrath 51); A Porter (J Boyle 51), D Sheehan (R Kelleher 51), T Clarkson; RG Snyman, J Ryan (D Mangan 80); R Baird, S Penny, J Conan (M Deegan 61).
K Rowe; S Cancelliere, H Jones, S Tuipulotu (T Jordan h-t), K Steyn; A Hastings, B Afshar (G Horne 55); J Bhatti (N McBeth 55), S Stephen (G Hiddleston 64), F Richardson (M Walker 55); J Oguntibeju (S Cummings 71), A Samuel (JP Du Preez 43); M Duncan (S McDowall 55), R Darge, E Ferrie.
: B Whitehouse (WRU).