Down in Dublin
Leinster cut loose to leave Townsend’s Warriors struggling
GLASGOW’S dreadful record in Dublin continued as the champions paid the price f or f ailing to put Leinster away when they were on top.
Warriors held an edge for long periods but were unable to close out the deal as they fell to their third loss of the campaign despite leading the way for most of the match.
And Fijian winger Taqele Naiyaravoro went from hero to villain when, after giving Glasgow a seemingly commanding lead with a bustling try, he was binned for knocking the ball dead with his hand as Leinster’s Fergus McFadden chased the ball towards the line.
The referee had no hesitation in awarding the penalty try and the hosts never looked back.
Leinster, despite only having a couple of fringe Irish players back from the World Cup, came good when it mattered most to secure the win. Glasgow enjoyed the bulk of possession in the first half and they deservedly led 13-6 at the interval.
The Warriors had an edge up front from the outset and that platform paid dividends on a perfect night for rugby in Dublin.
It has been an unhappy fixture for Warriors, with just one victory in 13 visits, but the champions did lay down an early marker here.
The return of six internationals from the World Cup was a big boost to Gregor Townsend, and although Leinster defended well initially the pressure f i nally told after 14 minutes.
Glasgow kept possession well and built the phases inside the home 22. Although loosehead prop Alex Allan was stopped short, the tighthead prop Zander Fagerson squeezed over for the try — his second of the campaign.
Duncan Weir added the extras but Leinster hit back almost immediately when Fergus McFadden landed a penalty from 35 metres to make it 7-3.
He cut the gap to the minimum going into the second quarter when he converted a penalty f rom the right after Tim Swinson was penalised for not rolling away.
But Glasgow took over from there and Weir extended their l ead with a fine long-range penalty.
The visitors kept Leinster penned back inside their own half for long periods and it was no surprise when they pushed further ahead when Weir struck his third successful kick from a penalty.
However, Glasgow’s hopes of only their third win i n the l ast 11 contests between these teams suffered a sizeable blow just before the break.
Hooker Pat MacArthur was sinbinned for what referee Ian Davies ruled, after a viewing by the Television Match Official (TMO), was a reckless tackle on his counterpart Aaron Dundon when he caught him high.
McFadden was unable to inflict further punishment, though, as he never got hold of the resultant penalty from the left wing as it fell short of the posts.
Leinster made the most of their extra man three minutes after the restart when they kicked a penalty into the corner.
Glasgow dealt with the initial forays by the Irish, but with Ben Te’o instrumental, they found a way through when scrum-half Luke McGrath sniped over after spotting a gap in the Warriors defence. McFadden added the conversion to tie the game.
The defending Pro12 champions response to conceding the try was as impressive as you would come to expect.
Once again they displayed great patience and built phase after phase inside the Leinster 22 and made it over t he l i ne when Taqele Naiyaravoro used all of his huge frame to burst through three big tackles to score.
Weir was unable to add the conversion and Glasgow led 18-13 just as they were restored to full strength when MacArthur returned from the bin.
Try scorer Naiyaravoro was then yellow carded for knocking the ball away with his hand as McFadden looked set to score and referee Davies had no hesitation in awarding the penalty try.
McFadden converted to put Leinster ahead for the first time in the game.
Pressure f rom the Warriors yielded a penalty opportunity but Weir was unable to find the range from 42 metres and the champions went into the final 10 minutes trailing by two.
Leinster played smart rugby for the remainder of the game and retained possession by doing the simple things well to hold on for their third win of the campaign.
They closed out the win when McFadden landed his third penalty in the final play of the night. SCORERS: LEINSTER — T: McGrath, Penalty. C: McFadden (2). P: McFadden (3). GLASGOW — T: Fagerson, Naiyaravoro. C: Weir. P: Weir (2).