Glasgow Warriors power past Leinster

MATCH REPORT: A Glasgow side containing seven members of Scotland’s World Cup squad were pushed all the way by Leinster before eventually securing a bonus-point 43-25 win in round one of the United Rugby Championship.

Although they were without their own World Cup contingent, the Irish province never fell out of contention until the closing minutes of the game.

Josh McKay, Sebastian Cancelliere, Huw Jones, Angus Fraser, George Horne and Johnny Matthews went over for Glasgow, who were also awarded a penalty try. Tom Jordan converting two of the tries and Horne one.

Jack Boyle, Lee Barron and Tommy O’Brien went over for Ulster with flyhalf Harry Byrne kicking two penalties and two conversions.

Patient probing paid off for the Warriors after 12 minutes, when Rory Darge raced through a gap in midfield following a lineout before offloading to McKay. The fullback, making his competitive return after seven months out with a broken foot, finished off unopposed.

Leinster hit back with two Byrne penalties in quick succession, but Cancelliere soon got Glasgow’s second, touching down in the right corner after good work by Gregor Brown.

Leinster then took the game to the home team with an assertive series of drives from the pack, finished off by loosehead prop Boyle to edge Leinster ahead.

The lead lasted less than three minutes, however, with advantage being played, Glasgow were able to take a chance with a hack ahead from a loose ball. It fell kindly for Jones, who raced clear to claim his team’s third try of the day.

Two minutes later, hooker Fraser secured the try bonus point following a ruck and the half ended with Glasgow 24-13 ahead.

Leinster had better fortune five minutes into the second half, when Barron broke through and scored all too easily from a lineout.

Cancelliere was shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on, but the 14 men extended their lead when Horne came off the bench for his 100th Glasgow appearance and within a minute scored in the right corner.

Leinster’s Liam Turner had a try disallowed for a foot in touch, but with 10 minutes remaining a similar score in the right corner by O’Brien was allowed to stand.

Matthews came off the bench and got the Warriors’ sixth try from close range.

Jordan Larmour was yellow-carded for an offence in the build-up, then Brian Deeny followed him minutes later for collapsing a maul, an offence for which Glasgow were awarded the penalty try which concluded the scoring.

Player of the Match

Scotland centre Jones may only have got one of his team’s seven tries, but he was a constant threat in attack and also contributed significantly to a strenuous defensive effort as his team did just enough to close out the game.

Play of the Match
A collapsed scrum then a loose pass late in the half did not look promising for Glasgow, but Stafford McDowall rolled the dice with a neat chip ahead. The bounce fell kindly for Jones, and the Scotland centre raced clear to score his team’s third try of the game.

The scorers:

For Glasgow Warriors:
Tries: McKay, Cancelliere, Jones, Fraser, Horne, Matthews
Cons: Jordan 2, Horne

For Leinster:
Tries: Boyle, Barron, O’Brien
Cons: Byrne 2
Pens: Byrne 2

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Sebastian Cancelliere, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Stafford McDowall, 11 Kyle Steyn, 10 Tom Jordan, 9 Jamie Dobie, 8 Henco Venter, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Gregor Brown, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Greg Peterson, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Angus Fraser, 1 Oli Kebble
Replacements: 16 Johnny Matthews, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Lucio Sordoni, 19 Alex Samuel, 20 Ally Miller, 21 Thomas Gordon, 22 George Horne, 23 Duncan Weir

Leinster: 15 Ciarán Frawley, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Liam Turner, 12 Charlie Ngatai,
11 Jordan Larmour, 10 Harry Byrne, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 James Culhane, 7 Scott Penny (captain), 6 Max Deegan, 5 Jason Jenkins, 4 Ross Molony, 3 Thomas Clarkson, 2 John McKee, 1 Jack Boyle
Replacements: 16 Lee Barron, 17 Paddy McCarthy, 18 Rory McGuire, 19 Brian Deeny, 20 Rhys Ruddock, 21 Cormac Foley, 22 Sam Prendergast, 23 Will Connors

Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant referees: Ru Campbell (Scotland) & Jonny Perriam (Scotland)
TMO: Sean Brickell (Wales)