Leinster Rugby (17) 34 - 18 (6) Glasgow Warriors
Royal Dublin Showgrounds
Friday, 12 March 2008, 19:30
Att: 11,717
It was back to the bread and butter for Leinster, in particular their international players. Leinster knew that their eight point gap at the top was not enough with crunch games ahead and that an emphatic was needed. Shane Horgan in particular was looking to mark the signing of his new two-year contract with a big performance.
The opening moments were uninspiring fare, and Glasgow took a 6 point lead through the boot of Colin Gregor. Leinster were playing into the wind and finally got some momentum and field position when keeping the ball in hand. Luke Fitzgerald in particular was in good form, and it was his run that yielded Leinster's first points. Contepomi struck a penalty on 20 minutes to halve Glasgow's advantage.
Leinster continued their dominance and it soon paid dividends. Leinster made good ground into the Glasgow half and when Shane Jennings collected the ball, the Glasgow defence failed to deal with him and the Leinster number 6 practically crawled across the line.
On the stroke of half time, Leinster struck again. Contepomi sent a grubber kick through the Glasgow defence and in a leg race between Horgan and Mick Berne, it was the inside centre who touched down. Contepomi converted and Leinster had a commanding lead going into the break.
The second half was a similar story. Again Contepomi punished Glasgow's defence with a grubber kick, and this time Shane Horgan did get on the end of it, dotting down just shy of the dead ball line.
Leinster were chasing the bonus point, but it was Glasgow who got the next try, Moray Low crashing over following weak defensive work from Leinster. The bonus point did duly arrive however as Heaslip placed the ball on the try line over the ruck, and the try was awarded, albeit via the video referee.
Glasgow were sticking at their task however and Gregor and Beattie combined to score a try and keep Glasgow in the hunt for a bonus point. But the last word went to the Boyne man Horgan, who collected the ball after Contepomi and Sexton combined well in midfield to finish in typical manner and seal an emphatic win for the league leaders.
| |
Leinster Rugby | |
Glasgow Warriors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tries | Jennings Berne Horgan (2) Heaslip |
Low Beattie |
|
| Conversions | Contepomi (3) | Gregor | |
| Penalties | Contepomi | Gregor (2) | |
| Teams | Rob Kearney | 15 | Bernardo Stortoni |
| Shane Horgan | 14 | Lome Fa'atau | |
| Christian Warner | 13 | Graeme Morrison | |
| Michael Berne | 12 | Daryl Gibson (C) | |
| Luke Fitzgerald | 11 | Thom Evans | |
| Felipe Contepomi | 10 | Colin Gregor | |
| Chris Whitaker | 9 | Sam Pinder | |
| |
|||
| Ollie Le Roux | 1 | Ed Kalman | |
| Bernard Jackman | 2 | Dougie Hall | |
| Stan Wright | 3 | Moray Low | |
| Leo Cullen (C) | 4 | Andy Newman | |
| Malcolm O'Kelly | 5 | Dan Turner | |
| Shane Jennings | 6 | James Eddie | |
| Keith Gleeson | 7 | Donnie MacFayden | |
| Jamie Heaslip | 8 | Johnnie Beattie | |
| |
|||
| Replacements | Brian Blaney (for Jackman, 77) | 16 | Eric Milligan (for Hall, 72) |
| Cian Healy (for Le Roux, 70) | 17 | Justin Va'a (for Kalman, 41) | |
| Trevor Hogan (for O'Kelly, 63) | 18 | Opeta Palepoi (for Newman, 39) | |
| Stephen Keogh (for Heaslip, 77) | 19 | Richie Vernon (for MacFadyen, 55) | |
| Chris Keane (for Whitaker, 52) | 20 | Ruaridh Jackson | |
| Jonathan Sexton (for Berne, 58) | 21 | Scott Barrow (for Pinder, 73) | |
| Gary Brown (for Fitzgerald, 72) | 22 | Hefin O'Hare (for Fa'atau, 63) | |
| Not considered due to injury |
Girvan Dempsey Brian O'Driscoll Gordon D'Arcy Fergus McFadden |
||
| Officials | Referee: Hugh Watkins (WRU) Sub Referee: Colin Stanley (IRFU) Touch Judge: David Wilkinson (IRFU) 4th Official: Peter Dennehy (ARLB) 5th Official: Ciaran McGowan (ARLB) |
||
by Sarah Lennon, © 2008-03-25
