Glasgow Warriors 38-17 Leinster

A brace from George Horne, allied to scores from Macenzzie Duncan, Kyle Rowe, Gregor Hiddleston and Ollie Smith, saw the Warriors extend their advantage at the top of the BKT URC table after 13 rounds of action.

In front of a sold-out Scotstoun in the early evening sunshine, the Warriors wasted no time in searching for an early breakthrough. A couple of powerful charges from Sione Vailanu set the tone early, whilst slick handling from debutant Johnny Ventisei almost freed Josh McKay for an early score.

A hard-fought opening quarter was increasingly being decided by fine margins, and it would be Leinster who struck first with 18 minutes on the clock. Rieko Ioane’s gamble paid off as he picked off Kyle Rowe’s short ball to Alex Samuel, before finding Kenny on his outside as he was hunted down by Ollie Smith. Kenny had just about enough pace to finish out wide, and although Sam Prendergast’s conversion was off target, the visitors led 5-0.

Undeterred, Glasgow continued to play at pace, exerting all manner of pressure on the Leinster line. With Brian Deeney sent to the sin-bin after the visitors conceded four penalties in succession in the shadow of their own posts, the dam eventually burst. Euan Ferrie’s soft hands sent Duncan hurtling through the gap from five metres out for his first try at Scotstoun, Horne’s conversion handing the Warriors the lead with 26 minutes played.

With Ronan Kelleher joining Deeney on the sidelines after a high tackle on McDowall, the Warriors wasted no time in making their two-man advantage count. The maul was proving too powerful for the visitors to handle, and with another penalty conceded inside their own 22, the Leinster defence had no answer. Hiddleston was the man to take advantage and rumble over for the score, the conversion drifting astray to leave the score at 12-5 to the hosts.

The Warriors were in full flight now, and struck for try number three in scintillating fashion almost straight from the restart. Ventisei’s outside arc took him clear of Ioane before offloading to McDowall, the skipper in turn sending Horne free on a race to the line. It was a race the scrum-half was always likely to win, touching down before converting his own score for a 19-5 lead.

Even more was to come with Leinster still down to 13, with Samuel getting in on the action with a 30-yard line break of his own. Instead, the bonus-point try was to arrive from a more familiar source, albeit in spectacular fashion. Faced with his opposite man, Rowe turned on the afterburners to scorch around the outside, before grubbering down the touchline from halfway. The winger had the presence of mind to gather and step the last defender, touching down for a score that – converted by Horne – gave the hosts a 26-5 lead against the backdrop of a capacity crowd in full voice.

Leinster would respond with the final act of the half as they were restored to 15 men, Hugo Keenan making the overlap work to cross for a try on his return from injury. Prendergast converted, leaving the half-time scoreline reading 26-12 in favour of the Warriors.

The visitors were first to press for a score following the restart, with only superb work from Ventisei and Hiddleston denying the Irishmen a try five minutes into the second stanza. Still the men in white came forward, yet the Warriors held firm phase after phase. Samuel leathering RG Snyman at close quarters was followed by Smith and McDowall ushering Tommy O’Brien into touch, raising the roof at Scotstoun at the end of a 25-phase defensive set.

Time and again, the Glasgow defensive wall refused to yield. Rory Sutherland and Angus Fraser were amongst those to bring fresh impetus from the bench, the latter latching onto the ball at a breakdown to win a penalty as the game ticked past the hour mark and raise the noise from the Scotstoun faithful once more.

Having soaked up wave upon wave of pressure, the Warriors then struck with a counter-punch of their own. Adam Hastings’ delayed pass gave Smith the mismatch against a couple of Leinster forwards, the winger driving his legs to fight through the tackle before sprinting clear to dive under the posts. Horne converted, and the Warriors led 33-12 with 10 minutes left to play.

Ciaran Frawley would respond for Leinster as the visitors crossed for their third try, but the final word would belong to the Warriors. Once again, the power game set the platform, before swift handling saw Horne muscle his way over the whitewash for his second – and Glasgow’s sixth – score under the Saturday night lights. The scrum-half would leave his conversion just short after both sides dusted themselves down from a post-try melee in the corner, but the Warrior Nation were in no mood to complain.

A bonus-point triumph on their return to BKT URC action, and a victory that extends their lead at the top of the standings – a six-day turnaround now awaits Smith’s men, as they welcome Benetton under the Friday night lights next weekend.