Resilient Glasgowadd win No 8

Matawalu brilliance helps Warriors remain unbeaten in Pro14 campaign

Glasgow did all the entertaining in the first half but had to dig deep in defence as the rain fell to claim their eighth Guinness PRO14 win out of eight and beat Leinster at Scotstoun last night.

The firework display finished at nearby Victoria Park 10 minutes into the game but the pyrotechnics continued on the Scotstoun pitch for the rest of a breathtaking first half as the Warriors scored four tries, man-of-the-match Niko Matawalu being heavily involved in three of them.

George Horne and Nick Grigg had two scores apiece but it was the return of the flying Fijian which thrilled the sellout Scotstoun crowd, particularly on the length of the field run to set up Grigg’s second score.

The Warriors had a bonus point try with less than 25 minutes played but were forced to dig deep as Leinster tried to muscle their way back into the game, drawing to within 10 points early in the second half but ultimately getting no closer.

The fun started after just four minutes with Leinster’s highly-rated Jordan Larmour dancing away from tackles and scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park stretching to score.

Glasgow hit back straight away, Matawalu and George Turner combining on a neat planned move off lineout ball to send George Horne racing in from 30 metres.

Within four minutes Glasgow’s defence was far too passive and Rory O’Loughlin battered over for Leinster, but the Warriors bounced back off the ropes again, Matawalu leading the breakout from his own 22, George Horne there in support, and Grigg burrowing over for the score.

Horne’s quick tap brought a yellow card for obstruction for Jordi Murphy, and Glasgow seized the initiative, the young scrum-half sniping over for his second try after the pack sucked in the defence with successive drives.

Matawalu then delivered the coup de grace, running out a pass from Horne from under his own posts and weaving past five defenders on a thrilling 80-metre run before giving the bonus point score to Grigg.

All that happened within the opening 25 minutes and it was almost a relief that things calmed down before halftime, Peter Horne adding to his four conversions with a penalty for a 31-14 lead.

Rain and the Irish tightening their grip on possession took a little of the fire out of the game in the second half, Glasgow seeing their first two yellow cards of the PRO14 season for Scott Cummings and Alex Dunbar, and Adam Byrne scored a converted try for Leinster.

But the home side survived long spells without the ball and the second yellow card without conceding, and in the end managed to shut down the visitors for the closing half-hour without threatening to add to their score themselves.

Attendance: 7,351.

● Scarlets needed a 67th-minute try from Wales international centre Scott Williams to secure a 20-8 victory over Italian battlers Benetton while Munster’s record try scorer Simon Zebo pocketed his 57th provincial try in a dominant 49-6 win over Dragons.