It didn’t take long to forget about the horrendous conditions at Scotstoun as Glasgow and Leinster fought out an entertaining game. The Irish side came out on top, 34-18.
The game was heavily impacted by the remanence of storm Brian meaning that the performance of the forwards would prove vital in determining the outcome of the game. So it proved with Leinster prop, Cian Healy scoring two tries in the first half. Healy’s two tries were split by a fantastic bit of attacking rugby by Glasgow which ended with Stuart Hogg touching down. The wind played a big role for the kickers, as both Johnny Sexton and Finn Russell were adopting low kicks to try and minimise the effect of the wind. Healy’s second try marked the end of the half to take Leinster in 17-10 in front.
Soon after the restart, Sexton interchanged with Australian, Scott Fardy to touch down which he converted to increase the lead to 24-10. The Warriors responded with their next meaningful attack through Peter Horne, Hogg and was finished off by Lions wing, Tommy Seymour. Both kickers traded penalties to set up a fascinating final quarter with both sides in a position to win the game.
Despite Glasgow’s late fightback, Leinster continued to hone in on the Scottish side’s line and it paid off with centre Noel Reid crossing to secure the bonus point. The final five minutes passed by without any score and it remained 34-18. The win means Leinster have now taken maximum points from their opening two pool games in back to back seasons in Europe. On the contrary, the defeat leaves Dave Rennie and his charges with a mountain to climb with no points from their opening two games, and now face the daunting prospect of home and away fixtures against Montpellier.
