Leinster left it late to snatch victory over Glasgow Warriors and join Munster in the Heineken Cup quarter-finals.
Leinster 23-16 Glasgow Warriors
It wasn’t easy for the reigning champions on a cabbage patch of a pitch in Firhill Stadium – a place where they have struggled in the past – but two tries in the second half pushed them clear of their Scottish rivals, who they now lead by an unassailable nine points in Pool Three.
The sides were locked at six points apiece at half-time with Jonathan Sexton and Fergus McFadden alternating the kicking duties because of Sexton’s fragile ankle.
Rob Kearney crossed for a try early in the second half and five further points from the boot of McFadden pushed Leinster into a 16-9 lead. The hosts fought back and levelled thanks to a try from Colin Gregor and it was all to play for with less than 20 minutes on the clock.
It was hard fought – at one stage Glasgow’s Troy Nathan threw Gordon D’Arcy’s misplaced boot from the field of play – but Boss scrapped his way over the line with twelve minutes remaining to restore Leinster’s advantage.
McFadden added the extras to make it a seven-point game and Mr. Versatility even found time to fill in at the scrum towards the end, with Sean O’Brien sitting out the last five minutes in the bin.
Joe Schmidt’s men remain unbeaten in the competition to date, but the goys will face tougher tests than this if Leo Cullen is to be lifting the Heineken Cup again in Twickenham in May.
