Leinster 76
Glasgow Warriors 14
FOR ALL OF of 14 minutes, Glasgow threatened to make this United Rugby Championship quarter-final interesting.
After a strong start the visitors led Leinster 7-0, Zander Fagerson crossing for a try which was just reward for their early dominance. They couldn’t, could they?
It quickly became apparent that there was to be no upset on the cards as Leinster stormed to a 76-14 win which sets up a semi-final clash against the Bulls at the RDS next Friday night.
However in those opening stages, it very much felt like the morning after the night before for a Leinster side who this day last week, came agonisingly close to capturing a fifth European title.
Glasgow played all the rugby and enjoyed all the territory, camped inside the Leinster 22 in scenes reminiscent of those closing 10 minutes in Marseille.
Just four minutes were on the clock when Fagerson burrowed under Andrew Porter to put Glasgow ahead, an interesting twist at the start of a game that always threatened to be a tricky proposition for Leinster, a crowd just north of 9,000 a disappointing turnout for a knock-out fixture.
The concession of a penalty at the first scrum of the day added to the early sense of unease as Leinster struggled to settle into the contest.
Then just like that, the game flipped. During a congested passage of play on the left wing, Glasgow lock Richie Gray sent an elbow crashing into the face of Jamison Gibson-Park. The crowd wanted red, but referee Andrea Piardi opted for yellow.
Leinster would hit Glasgow for three tries while Gray watched on from the sideline.
Dan Sheehan was first over the line for the hosts, powering over from a strong driving maul on with the first passage of play following Gray’s exit.
And if that first score was all about power, the second was about speed. Jordan Larmour – a man perhaps lucky to miss out in Marseille last weekend – picked the ball up in his own half and sensed opportunity from a situation few others on the pitch would have fancied.
With one quick flash of those electric feet he was past three Glasgow defenders and deep in the Warriors half. The move almost broke down as Larmour attempted to play in Gibson-Park, but the wing was able to regather the loose ball and ensure his hard work didn’t go to waste.
In all aspects of the play, Leinster were now totally dominant as their scrum began to get the upper hand and passes started to stick.
Just a few short minutes later, 21-year-old lock Joe McCarthy was in for their third, finishing from close range and getting the rub of the green with a knock-on call, the ball knocked out of his hand by a Glasgow hand before moving forward. Ross Byrne added his third conversion of the day and Leinster were 21-7 up with 25 minutes played, one foot firmly in next weekend’s semi-finals.
Gray then returned to the action to restore Glasgow to their full complement but the damage had been done, and Leinster continued to toy with a laboured looking Warriors.
Larmour did brilliantly to rip the ball from Gregor Brown as the Glasgow flanker thought he was over for their second try of the afternoon before the hosts added their fourth, Sheehan powering over from a bulldozing Leinster maul. Byrne’s conversion struck the post as Leinster went in at the break 26-7 up.
Glasgow need a response, but the second half proved to be desperately one-sided for a what should have been a competitive playoff game.
It took just two minutes for Caelan Doris to run-in Leinster’s fifth try, the number eight beating the last defender with ease after some good work by the Leinster pack to create the space.
Byrne added the conversion before Leinster saw Tadhg Furlong make an early exit after receiving some treatment on the pitch.
His replacement, Michael Ala’alatoa had a try to his name with three minutes, the tighthead stretching over after another strong series of carries.
Larmour must have felt a little left out between all the close-contact rugby because the winger then exploded into life again to set-up a quick-fire double.
First he broke free and linked-up nicely with Gibson-Park to send the scrum-half clean through – following good work from Frawley – before bursting down the same right wing to feed Garry Ringrose, Byrne converting Gibson-Park’s score before finding the post again following Ringrose’s.
Leinster head coach Leo Cullen then emptied his bench as Glasgow finally landed another punch, Kiran McDonald producing a strong carry before finding fellow replacement George Horne, with Thompson converting.
It was a brief spark of life from Glasgow as Leinster went up the other end and sent Larmour over, the most dangerous player on the pitch finding himself in acres of space and crossing untroubled, Byrne’s conversion sailing wildly wide as Leinster took a 57-14 lead into the closing 15 minutes.
The tries kept coming, Frawley intercepting a loose Ollie Smith pass to run in under the posts, handing Harry Byrne the simplest of tasks for his first conversion of the day.
Within a minute Luke McGrath was under the posts for try number 11 following a lovely dummy from Harry Byrne, who added the conversion as a woefully one-sided contest became farcical. With 10 minutes still to play, the scoreboard now read 71-14 in Leinster’s favour, a bad look for a playoff game at this stage of the season.
With the game long beyond doubt, Leinster’s workrate remained exceptional, Frawley chasing down Jack Dempsey as the Glasgow backrow broke clear from the halfway line.
When it’s not your day, it’s not your day. In the far corner, the lively Jimmy O’Brien skipped inside to add a 12th try for Leinster.
Leo Cullen wanted a response, and he got it in some style. Europe may have slipped past Leinster again this season, but the charge for a fifth straight league title remains fully on course.
Leinster scorers:
Try – Sheehan (2), Larmour (2), McCarty, Sheehan, Ala’alatoa, Gibson-Park, Ringrose, Frawley, McGrath O’Brien.
Penalties – R Byrne [7/9], H Byrne [2/3]
Conversions – R Byrne [7/9], H Byrne [2/3]
Glasgow scorers:
Try – Fagerson
Conversion – Thompson [1/1]
LEINSTER: Jimmy O’Brien; Jordan Larmour, Garry Ringrose (Robbie Henshaw, 59), Ciarán Frawley, Rory O’Loughlin; Ross Byrne (Harry Byrne 67), Jamison Gibson-Park (Luke McGrath, 59); Andrew Porter (Cian Healy, 59), Dan Sheehan (Seán Cronin, 59), Tadhg Furlong (Michael Ala’alatoa, 44); Joe McCarthy, James Ryan (captain) (Ross Molony, 59); Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier (Jack Conan, 60), Caelan Doris.
GLASGOW WARRIORS: Ollie Smith; Josh McKay, Sione Tuipulotu, Sam Johnson, Rufus McLean; Ross Thompson (Domingo Miotti, 69), Ali Price (George Horne, 51); Jamie Bhatti (Oli Kebble, 51), George Turner (Fraser Brown 41), Zander Fagerson (Simon Berghan, 51); Rob Harley (Lewis Bean 55), Richie Gray; Ryan Wilson (captain) (Kiran McDonald 55), Gregor Brown, Jack Dempsey.
Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR)
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Munster are looking good.!.
@Locojoe: They really are starting to look very good. I’d expect a but win and five points and would fancy them to run Castres close in France.
I see Joey is trying out the new invisible skipping rope. They have it all down in Munster.
@DeShawn Jersey:
Carbery, “Gee whizz I’m going to be playing next to Conor Murray”
Murray, “Here we go again”
Should be a pretty strong team picked today. Barring injury at 15 the only number I’m not sure of is 12. He could go with scannell or blyendaal there with the other covering the bench. Looking forward to seeing carbery in the middle of Murray and Farrell. Also looking forward to seeing loughman and what he can do in a big game against a good side. I’d expect a munster win by about 10 points I think.
@Jim Demps: Loughman is a good losehead he just wasn’t going to make it as a tighthead. He was right to leave, now with Cronin being injured he has a real chance to progress his career. Just hope he doesn’t end up going to the world cup with the US as that would rule him out long term for Munster.
@Jim Demps: Scannell starts. He might not be that highly rated, but in the last 3/4 years he has made that 12 jersey his own under successive coaches.
@Darren Byrne: I dont think loughman will be lining out for the states. He must be firmly on the radar of the Irish management for the future given that Healy, McGrath, kilcoyne and cronin are all in and around the same age and around the 30 mark now
@Jim Demps: guessing Blyendaal on bench to cover 12, Scannell to start( left foot), team kinda picks itself after that. Butterflies starting, can see Murray Carbery axis being what has been missing. Leinster have Jonnie, but Conor and Joey trump even him. 3 more sleeps.
There’s a Heineken cup or two in this young and developing squad.
@Paul O’Connor: naw, nobody is going to beat Leinster this side of the World Cup in France.
2nd row selection will be interesting in the absence of Jean Kleyn.
@retsnuM: Surely Holland comes in and Wycherley takes the bench spot, as he seems to have jumped O’Shea in the pecking. In terms of locks we are a little light. DOC2 could cover but he is injured, maybe POM can cover in a crisis. Definitely an area we need more depth.
@Johnny 5: well there is a certain Tipperary man out of contract in Paris this summer…
@Johnny 5: I agree re Holland and Wycherley but I seem to remember that O’Shea looked good recently – including in the heavy going in Zebre, I think. I really hope that he develops into Munster’s Devin Toner – he’s only an inch shorter that Dev, is still only 25 (26 next week) and has good players and coaches to learn from. Maybe uber-tall players take a bit longer to develop. As we know, 6-9 / 6-10 comfort blankets are very handy in the line-out for provinces and Ireland.
@Glenbower: I don’t doubt it’s possible and he has all the physical attibutes required, but he is back 2 years and looks like he is moving backwards in the pecking order. It’s not like lock is very competitive spot for Munster at the moment. He is competing with Holland (33 and without the physical attibutes to be top level lock) and Wycherley (only 20), O’Shea should really be pushing on and playing games if he is going to make it.
@Niall Collins: that would be great, but considering we couldn’t afford to keep him 2 years ago, and he has spent the last 2 years tearing up trees in Paris it’s hard to imagine him coming back. Plus the carrot of playing for Ireland at the RWC isn’t even guaranteed if he returned with the emergence of James Ryan and Beirne since he left
@retsnuM: Big Billy & Tadgh
Looking forward to this pairing. Suspect Cooney – Carbery might make for a fine combination as well though.