Narrow Defeat Leaves Leinster Out Of Contention

Leinster had their hopes of progression in the Guinness PRO14 Rainbow Cup extinguished by a 15-12 defeat to Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun Stadium.

Leo Cullen’s men came into this game knowing nothing less than five points would do. Tries from captain Luke McGrath and Cian Kelleher had them 12-7 ahead at the break.

However, in a feisty affair, Glasgow also touched down twice and a vital 64th-minute penalty from Ross Thompson steered them to their fourth straight win.

The in-form Hugo Keenan had two tries disallowed – one for a knock-on and the second for obstruction – as Leinster frustratingly fell out of title contention with one round remaining.

Speaking in the aftermath, Cullen admitted: “It was unlikely that we were going to make the final but the guys did want to go out and put on a good show (tonight).

“We are disappointed that we did not achieve that. It was a scrappy game that did not quite go our way. A lot of things we could control weren’t good enough, not accurate enough across the board – and an expensive penalty count as well.

“We definitely got sucked into the physical stuff. There were lots of different fracas and TMO checks – no real rhythm or flow to the game, which became quite stop-start and disjointed. We need to be better in terms of how we manage that.”

The visitors were keen to use the first half wind to their advantage, Ross Byrne’s boot astutely moving them down the field.

Still, Glasgow got their pack into range, using the lineout platform to produce a series of drives and an eventual 11th-minute try from number 8 Matt Fagerson. Thompson converted.

Leinster reacted swiftly, Ross Molony’s initial break and offload setting the wheels in motion. Caelan Doris pirouetted away from a tackler and McGrath sniped smartly for seven points under the posts.

Full-back Adam Hastings’ kick and chase applied enough pressure to force a spill out of McGrath, prompting a set move which was undone by heavy Leinster tackling.

In response, a smattering of pick-and-jams was not good enough to skewer Glasgow, the ball whipped right for full-back Keenan’s footwork to do the trick.

But, the video evidence of a Molony knock-on in the lead up was strong enough to chalk out the score.

Leinster then benefited from Cole Forbes’ yellow card for an early tackle. Within two minutes they were over, Rory O’Loughlin’s pass allowing winger Kelleher to step inside George Horne and ground the ball.

Byrne missed the conversion but Leinster remained in front for half-time, despite losing centre O’Loughlin to the sin bin for no clear release at a ruck.

The province absorbed further pressure on the restart, as Glasgow, driven on by player-of-the-match Ryan Wilson and the influential Hastings, tried to hit back.

Leinster thought they had a third try when a flurry of passes – James Ryan with the decisive one – put Keenan scampering in behind the posts. Yet, replays pinpointed a block by Andrew Porter and it stayed 12-7.

Immediately, Glasgow moved with menace, slick offloads from out-half Thompson and Hastings putting Kyle Steyn beyond Cian Kelleher for the leveller in the 47th minute.

Into the final quarter, it was nip and tuck with both sides putting their bodies on the line in a bruising contest.

With Glasgow bouncing back from losing skipper Wilson to the bin, Thompson turned a 40-metre penalty into three points and a hard-earned lead for the hosts.

From there, the carries came thick and fast until Byrne lost the ball forward in what was to prove Leinster’s last meaningful attack.