Leinster 52 Glasgow 0 (FT)
Leinster will play either Northampton Saints or Castres in the Champions Cup semi-final after hammering Glasgow tonight.
Scroll down for reaction, analysis and videos of each try scored by the province in another impressive display.
We’ll bid you adieu by leaving you with John O’Sullivan’s match report from the Aviva. Trust me, he’s much better at this stuff than I am.
Goodnight all.
[ Jordie Barrett masterclass leads ruthless Leinster to another big shutout winOpens in new window ]
Player of the match Jordie Barrett had some night:
14 carries
48 metres made
2 defenders beaten
16 tackles (top Leinster tackler)
3 turnovers won
We never got a chance amidst the mad endgame to stick up a video of Max Deegan’s last try. Here it is, lovely cross-kick from Byrne. Not the first time we’ve seen that.
Full-time: Leinster 52 Glasgow 0
Leinster turn on the razzle dazzle with cross-kicks, tip on passes and one-handed passes. McCarthy’s knock-on with the clock in the red kills the fun.
Leinster fall 10 points short of last week’s mark but they once again have conceded nul points.
In two weekends of knockout rugby they’ve scored 114 points and conceded zilch. Yes, they are on the easier side of the draw, but that’s some return.
80 mins: Dan Sheehan thinks he’s away after another nifty lineout move. He went short to McGrath who immediately passed it back to him. Only the ball went forward. We do have time for the scrum.
Try Max Deegan
76 mins: Leinster have 50 and Deegan has a double. O’Brien goes close in one corner but Dobie stops him with a thunderous tackle. Back the other way the ball comes, Byrne kicking out wide to Deegan who gathers and dives over in the corner.
From out wide, Byrne just pushes his conversion wide.
Leinster 52 Glasgow 0
Jordie Barrett has been named player of the match.
Tom Jordan might be lucky to avoid a card there. He targets Jordie Barrett’s leg at the side of a ruck. The TMO intervenes but Luke Pearce says the degree of danger was low, so no card. Leinster kick into the corner.
74 mins: Two minutes later, Glasgow still have the ball but Leinster have forced them out of the 22. Still working hard to keep a zero on the scoreboard.
Doris eventually puts Glasgow out of their misery with a jackal penalty.
72 mins: Leinster once again tackle the 9 within a metre of the ruck, falling foul of the new law. McGrath the culprit this time. Glasgow go to the corner.
70 mins: O’Brien puts in a good kick off turnover ball to find touch inside the Glasgow half. Every time Glasgow eke into the Leinster 22, the province has so far found a way of cutting them off.
68 mins: Doris gives away a penalty for playing the 9, the new law which has come in. Glasgow go to the corner.
Mangan pinches the lineout to get Leinster out of jail.
We’re back on after a lengthy delay. Fagerson has been stretchered off.
67 mins: A very serious Glasgow injury stops the game. It looks to be Matt Fagerson, the backrow, who is in some strife. Lower leg is the issue.
64 mins: Leinster play a handful of phases without much reward, so Barrett kicks in behind. He finds a nice touch close to the Glasgow line.
McCarthy gathers a loose lineout at the back of the set piece but he can’t hang on. He would have had a good run to the line there after a loose Glasgow throw.
62 mins: Leinster threaten again but Byrne is driven into touch. He didn’t have the power to work through the tackle 5m from the Glasgow line.
Rg Snyman departs, Diarmuid Mangan comes on for his first European game.
60 mins: ‘Nine has given me a spray’. Not Horne’s best moment. He gives away a penalty for playing it on the deck and then loses a few extra metres for shouting at Luke Pearce.
Ross Byrne comes on for Prendergast.
Try Dan Sheehan
58 mins: Sheehan is just on the park and his first touch is to score. The lineout leads to a dummy maul, van der Flier peeling back down the short side with the entire Glasgow pack worried about the drive. Sheehan is hiding on the wing, there to take the pass and score in the corner. Clever set-piece move. Prendergast is good from out wide.
Leinster 47 Glasgow 0
57 mins: Rowe just about keeps a clearing kick in play, but the crowd thought he didn’t. Henshaw flies out of the line to make a big hit, leading to Glasgow kicking it away. Leinster look to offload, Jordan knocks on in contact and then Samuel picks it up in an offside position.
Prendergast kicks into the corner.
55 mins: Wow. The Glasgow maul goes nowhere so they play it down the blindside. Hastings is man-handled by Barrett, unceremoniously picked up and dragged into touch.
54 mins: Hastings gets his wires crossed with his centres in midfield, but Glasgow had the advantage. That’s quite a few penalties for Leinster in the last few minutes. Pearce does warn Doris.
52 mins: Couple of penalties in a row for Glasgow. One is taken quickly inside the 22. Steyn carries well but Ringrose deliberately slaps the ball out of his hands. No yellow, but there will be a lineout in the corner.
Leinster bring off Furlong, Gibson-Park and Ringrose. On come Slimani, McGrath and Henshaw, the latter making his 100th Leinster appearance.
50 mins: Tom Jordan makes plenty of ground on a first phase carry into the 22. He barrels into the 22 but Barrett and Prendergast hold him up for a scrum. Barrett’s defensive work-rate continues to impress.
47 mins: Kelleher this time wins a breakdown turnover for Leinster. They continue to be pests on the floor. Prendergast breaks into the 22.
Try Garry Ringrose
Ringrose beats a number of defenders after the half-break from Prendergast. Far too easy from a defensive point of view but it’s a good try in transition for Leinster. Prendergast adds the extras from straight in front.
Leinster 40 Glasgow 0
45 mins: It looked good, but it didn’t work. O’Brien takes a pass off his bootlaces and tries to throw it through his legs to McCarthy. It sails over his head and into row z.
43 mins: Glasgow start the half dominating the ball. They look much sharper than prior to the break, Hastings spotting Furlong in front of him in the line to make the break. O’Brien gets in over the ball to relieve the pressure for Leinster.
41 mins: We’re back underway. Three years ago, Leinster put 70+ points on Glasgow in a URC quarter-final. Will they get to that mark again?
From finding space out wide to spotting it in behind. Again, the skills look simple here with Prendergast kicking in behind, but the ability to see that space in real time is very impressive. Keenan was on the same page as his 10 and notched a straightforward score.
The fourth score came, once again, with Glasgow down to 14. Another wide pass to take advantage of the space, only this time O’Brien’s finish was a lot harder.
We talk about identifying space, Leinster knew off a scrum that, with a back in the bin, the space would be out wide. Cue Gibson-Park making a pass such as this look very simple.
The second score was a penalty try. If I’m a Glasgow fan, I’m a bit annoyed that Luke Pearce didn’t go upstairs as there looked to be cover. That said, it definitely was a yellow card and Leinster scored 19 points between this try and those that came with Hastings off the park. This call won’t have any bearing on the result.
It all started with Max Deegan scoring in the corner. Look at the handling, balls inside the back, inside passes and offloads. Sensational skills really.
Stick a fork in her, this one’s done.
Leinster’s swarming defence has come as advertised, Glasgow’s much-vaunted attack hasn’t been able to fire a shot. Jordie Barrett alone has come up with three turnovers.
With ball in hand, Leinster haven’t been as offload-happy as last week, but they don’t need to be. Their ruck speed, decision making at the line and ability to identify space with kicks and long passes has been sensational. They look good value to beat last week’s total of 62 points.
Half-time: Leinster 33 Glasgow 0
James Lowe dots down a kick in behind his own try line and that’s that for the first half. Glasgow look shell-shocked, Leinsteer look imperious.
40 mins: All Black fans must be delighted that Barrett has spent six months working with Nienaber. He gets another defensive turnover, this time ripping the ball from Jordan in the tackle. It would be quite something if he leaves Ireland a more complete player, only to come back to haunt them in a World Cup in two years’ time...
38 mins: Glasgow finally make some ground as Fagerson carries up towards the 22. There’s Barrett, again, getting involved to steal on the floor. The only problem was, he then passed the ball back inside his own 22. A teammate kicked it out on the full.
37 mins: Leinster finally infringe amidst their swarming, suffocating defence. Gibson-Park counter-rucks but he’s swung around by a would-be rucker, his legs dislodging the ball illegally from the ruck.
Try Hugo Keenan
34 mins: Glasgow are back up to 15 but that doesn’t stop the onslaught. Prendergast puts in a grubber kick, Keenan speeds in behind to score. Simple but elegant stuff.
Prendergast has a simple conversion this time which goes safely between the uprights.
Leinster 33 Glasgow 0
34 mins: Adam Hastings is back on. His infringement and subsequent 10 minutes off the park has cost his side just the 19 points 😧
Amidst all the try chaos, Cian Healy has been replaced by Andrew Porter. Not sure if that’s injury related, or Leinster’s little ploy of bringing on Porter for the meaningful minutes later on. That said, this game has been decided before he set foot on the park.
Try Tommy O’Brien
30 mins: Leinster go wide off a scrum, once again taking advantage of a narrow, undermanned backline. Prendergast throws a long pass, O’Brien steps inside the cover and scores in the corner. Brilliant finish.
Prendergast is only getting wide conversions tonight but this time he nails it.
Leinster 26 Glasgow 0
30 mins: Now Barrett gets his hands dirty, sticking his head in a ruck to win a turnover.
22,400 are in the Aviva tonight. Objectively speaking, that’s a very good crowd for a club match with only a week to sell tickets. Still, it’s a shame it’s not full.
28 mins: Glasgow, to be fair to them, are trying to play their way out of trouble. Darge tries to throw a pass under pressure close to his own 22 but he’s thrown it in front of his winger and into touch. Leinster continue to suffocate.
Try James Lowe
26 mins: That’s one of the easier finishes of James Lowe’s career. With a back in the bin, Gibson-Park knows where the space is. He takes the ball off the back of the scrum, draws in a defender before throwing a long, wide ball to Lowe with no defender in front of him. Simple finish in the corner.
Prendergast just pulls his conversion from out wide.
Leinster 19 Glasgow 0
24 mins: More pressure from Leinster. Prendergast sells a dummy and breaks out of his own 22. He kicks ahead, himself and Gibson-Park on the chase. Rowe does have the pace to get to the ball first, just about, but he kicks it over his own line before he regathers and is tackled. 5 metre scrum for Leinster.
23 mins: This could be a penalty try. Adam Hastings has slapped the ball down and the only question is if there was cover.
It is a penalty try, Luke Pearce doesn’t even go upstairs. It was a cross-kick from Prendergast to find Kelleher on the flank. He stepped inside Steyn before trying to feed Ringrose. Hastings came across, slapped the ball down and is sent to the bin. You know what, McDowall wasn’t a million miles away and could have been cover for the penalty try there. Leinster might have got away with one.
Anyway, Hastings is in the bin and Leinster have another seven on the scoreboard.
Leinster 14 Glasgow 0
22 mins: Oh my days. That is one of the bigger shots you will see. Samuel lines up Doris from a mile out and absolutely levels him. That’s a tackle you could feel through the screen. No ill effects from Doris who wins a breakdown turnover shortly after.
21 mins: Kelleher looks for Snyman at the back of the lineout but Glasgow read it well through Rory Darge. First missed lineout of the evening for Leinster.
Look who’s in town. I say in town, he does live around the corner in Sandymount.
19 mins: Oh wow, that is a sensational passage of play on both sides. Kyle Rowe fields a grubber brilliantly to open up acres of space in front of him. He burns Prendergast on the outside before chipping towards the posts. Barrett is under the pump big time but fields, gets back to his feet and steps past Rowe with far too much ease for anyone’s liking. Thrilling stuff from both players involved.
18 mins: He’s not famed for his lineout work, but McCarthy pinches one at the front of the Glasgow lineout. Snyman then throws an offload which gets the crowd making strange noises. Of course he does.
17 mins: There’s the line speed. Barrett flies out of the line, forcing a rushed pass from Vailanu to Fagerson. Forward she goes off the big backrow. Leinster clear.
16 mins: Glasgow hit back with some good pressure. Prendergast has to scramble to gather a chip into the 22 from McDowall. He gets the ball inside to Ringrose but he is then smashed into touch by Tom Jordan. Glasgow lineout inside the Leinster 22.
15 mins: Early change for Leinster. Jack Conan has gone off looking like he’s in considerable pain. Caelan Doris is on for him. Not the best time to get injured, with Lions boss Andy Farrell in the stands.
Try Max Deegan
14 mins: The handling from Leinster is sensational. Firstly Barrett sends an inside pass on first phase back to O’Brien to get over the gainline. Then Prendergast does the same with McCarthy to keep the momentum going. Eventually, Barrett draws two defenders, offloads to O’Brien who then passes out of contact to Deegan in the corner.
Prendergast adds the extras from out wide.
Leinster 7 Glasgow 0
13 mins: Leintser’s pressure game works well. First Furlong sends the Glasgow scrum backwards once again. The ball is fed out to McDowall but Ringrose rushes up to smash him, the loose ball rolling back into the 22. Horne recovers before Dobie clears to touch, albeit not far from his own 22.
11 mins: Another Leinster knock-on ends an attack. Big carries from the likes of Furlong make ground but he spills while trying to place the ball back for Gibson-Park.
Try Jordie Barrett
10 mins: It’s opportunistic, but Leinster will take it. Ringrose carries close to the line after taking the pass from Barrett. Dobie smashes him, dislodging the ball, but it goes straight into the hands of Barrett, who takes it under the sticks.
NO TRY
The TMO has intervened. The ball went forward off Ringrose, into the Glasgow defender, and then backwards to Barrett. No try, knock-on. Glasgow survive.
8 mins: Conan puts in a lot of hard yakka to power through three tacklers but without making much ground. Snyman tries the same but, unusually for him, gets nowhere. Leinster had an offside advantage which is ultimately used. Prendergast turns down the three, kicking for the corner.
7 mins: Furlong demolishes his man at the scrum and Leinster get the advantage. Wide they go, Ringrose spinning a clever ball out the back before Keenan sends Lowe into space. Leinster don’t resource the breakdown and Gibson-Park is counter-rucked out of it. Good scramble from Glasgow.
5 mins: Oh that was close. Dobie, the Glasgow wing, reads Jordie Barrett’s pass perfectly. He goes for the intercept and would have been under the sticks had he gathered. He can’t take it cleanly, the knock-on bailing Leinster out of trouble. No deliberate knock, scrum only.
3 mins: Frustrating minute or so for Max Deegan. He gives away a penalty at the lineout for playing the jumper in the air. At the next lineout, he jumps well to get a finger on the Glasgow throw, only to knock it on. Furlong bails his mate out of trouble with a big hit on Fagerson to force a loose pass.
2 mins: You don’t see that every day. Glasgow are pinged for closing the gap at the lineout. Gibson-Park takes the free-kick quickly. Snyman throws a trademark offload to Furlong, he tries to return the favour to Barrett but a big hit dislodges the ball. Glasgow clear.
Prendergast runs back to his own 22 to field the kick. He unleashes a booming spiral, finding touch all the way back up towards the Glasgow 22. It is fun when he does that.
1 min: Luke Pearce blows his whistle and we’re underway at the Aviva! Sam Prendergast launches it into the 22 on a beautiful Dublin evening. George Horne kicks to touch, Leinster lineout on the Glasgow 10m line.
Mike McCarthy is undergoing his now customary warm-up act with Leo the Lion. It involved McCarthy wearing a horse mask...
Anyway, that’s enough horse play. Here come the teams, we’re seconds out from kick-off.
Hear from Leo Cullen ahead of kick-off.
Just over 10 minutes to go until kick-off. Not expecting a full crowd tonight, with word that the top tier of the Aviva will be closed.
For all the talk of these two sides’ attack, we haven’t mentioned what normally is the topic du jour with Leinster, their aggressive South African-style defence. A hallmark of Jacques Nienaber’s system is that, while sides might break the line, the defending team is excellent at scrambling to prevent scores.
This stacks up. According to Opta, Leinster are the best club side in the world (URC, Premiership, Top 14 and Super Rugby) at limiting scores from missed tackles (just six per cent leading to tries).
On the flip side, Glasgow are the seventh best side (out of 51) in the world at turning line breaks into tries (44.5 per cent).
This is an intriguing match-up.
This is a good one from Kevin Millar. We referenced below some of Glasgow’s missing stars, the likes of Tuipulotu, Jones and Fagerson. Well, among those and the other internationals unavailable to the Warriors, there are more international caps than among those in tonight’s matchday 23.
A few interesting stats tonight. Across the whole season, Glasgow are a marginally more efficient attacking side than Leinster. Though it should be said, when it comes to club rugby, stats are misleading in the early rounds when teams like Leinster in particular tend to rotate heavily.
Last weekend, the Irish province technically had a more ruthless attack. Leinster had 3.4 points per attacking entry, Glasgow 2.6.
Leinster threw 26 offloads last weekend against Harlequins. In the league, they’re averaging 13.4 per game. The greater levels of joué seemed to work, the attack kicking into gear to the tune of 62 points vs ‘Quins.
That side of their game has come in for some criticism in recent months, a narrative emerging that they’re focusing overly on their semi-new defensive system under Jacques Nienaber. Our man at the Aviva tonight, John O’Sullivan, wrote a piece last week looking at how new attack coach Tyler Bleyendaal has fared this season.
[ Rhapsody in blue as Leinster attack finally fires on all cylindersOpens in new window ]
There are a few Leinster milestones tonight. Tommy O’Brien playing on the wing is noteworthy not just because he replaces Jamie Osborne who looked good last week!
Diarmuid Mangan is certainly one to keep an eye on. I watched him play for a Leinster Development XV against Ireland U20s back in January. Comfortably the best player on the park, a strong ball carrier. He’s two years out of playing for the 20s himself.
No clash between an Irish side and Glasgow can go without mentioning Nigel Carolan, the Galway native currently running the Warriors attack. We interviewed the former Ireland U20s boss back in February in advance of Ireland’s Six Nations clash with Scotland.
Listen below to learn about his coaching journey. He worked with a number of current Ireland internationals at U20 level, including Max Deegan and Andrew Porter, both of whom feature tonight. Glasgow’s attack is one of Europe’s better outfits and it’s all the more intriguing that an Irishman is running the show.
Given he currently works with Lions favourites such as Huw Jones and Sione Tuipulotu (if fit), listening to Nigel is well worth your time. More interestingly, in this interview, Carolan said he enjoys playing against blitz defences 👀
Nigel Carolan - The Irishman running Glasgow's attack
Here’s the Glasgow team. They have their fair share of Scottish internationals but this line-up is more noteworthy for who’s missing. There’s still no Sione Tuipulotu or Huw Jones in the centres. Tighthead prop Zander Fagerson, widely seen as Tadhg Furlong’s biggest rival for the starting Lions spot this summer, is also nowhere to be seen despite starting last weekend.
Number eight Henco Venter, a big ball carrier for Glasgow, is banned after making contact with an opponent’s eye last time out.
Perhaps surprisingly, given the one-sided nature of their victory over Harlequins in last week’s last-16, Leo Cullen has made six changes to the side which starts tonight. There is plenty of rotation as Cian Healy and Rónan Kelleher start in the frontrow having missed out on last week’s 23, meaning Andrew Porter and Dan Sheehan drop to the bench. Tadhg Furlong swaps places with Rabah Slimani after the Ireland tighthead sat among the replacements against ‘Quins.
The backrow also sees Caelan Doris move to the bench, Jack Conan moves across from six to eight and captains the side. Max Deegan starts at blindside flanker.
The other two changes come in midfield, Jordie Barrett replacing Robbie Henshaw at centre, while Tommy O’Brien comes in for Jamie Osborne on the wing.
Diarmuid Mangan is set for a European debut on the bench.
Good evening all and welcome to our live coverage as Leinster take on Glasgow Warriors at the Aviva Stadium. We’re down to the last eight in Europe, with both sides looking to book their place in the semi-finals next month.
Leinster are favourites given the internationals in their squad, but Glasgow do not come into this without pedigree. They are URC champions and the competition’s final in Pretoria saw the Warriors beat the same Bulls outfit which ended Leinster’s season. Nor are they without fond memories of knockout rugby in Ireland, having beaten Munster on their travels in last season’s URC semi-final.
The prize for the victor this evening is a date with either Northampton or Castres in the last four.
