Leinster v Glasgow Warriors: Five takeaways as Sione Tuipulotu makes ‘promising’ return while Ireland hopeful lights up ‘atrocious match’
Glasgow Warriors centre Sione Tuipulotu and Leinster wing Tommy O'Brien.
Following a 13-5 victory for Leinster over Glasgow Warriors, here are our five takeaways from the United Rugby Championship clash at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.
Top line
Leinster will go into the play-offs as favourites for the URC title after they secured their 16th domestic victory of the season with a narrow success over fourth placed Glasgow. It was a result which enabled the Irish province to end the season eight points clear of the Bulls, who finished in second, and set up a home quarter-final against the Scarlets.
In truth, they will have to be much better than what they produced on Saturday, however, after Leo Cullen’s men edged past a Warriors side they humiliated in their previous encounter, with few players anywhere near their best during a dreadful match.
At least – from Leinster’s perspective that is – Jacques Nienaber’s defence looked in good working order after the criticism the South African received following the Champions Cup semi-final defeat. It certainly had to be resilient, particularly in the first half, as an abrasive and determined Glasgow outfit got the upper hand.
Leinster eventually grew into the game, though, and would go into the break 7-0 in front through Jimmy O’Brien’s try before Sam Prendergast added a penalty in the third quarter. George Horne did give the Warriors hope going into the latter stages, but that was extinguished by Ciaran Frawley’s late three-pointer.
Sione Tuipulotu watch
We can only assume his withdrawal at half-time was pre-planned as it would spark concern if not. For those 40 minutes, Tuipulotu, who was making his first appearance since mid-January, displayed some nice touches.
The Scotland captain was picked for the British and Irish Lions series despite missing the Six Nations due to injury, which shows just how highly he is rated. To some extent, it is a risk for Andy Farrell, given his lack of Tests this year, but Tuipulotu still has plenty of time to prove his match fitness before the tour.
Considering how long the centre has been on the sidelines, his return looked promising with the highlight a chip over the top, which he collected himself, before kicking through for a second time, sparking panic in the Leinster backfield.
Elsewhere, he was solid on both sides of the ball, getting up to the pace of the game pretty quickly. Tuipulotu will no doubt be crucial for Glasgow in the play-offs and, should he get through that, all focus switches to Australia.
Waiting for the play-offs
Leinster went into the clash already knowing that top spot had been secured while the best position Glasgow Warriors could finish was third having sealed a home match in the quarter-finals.
With not much riding on it, there was less intensity in the contest and that lack of enthusiasm rather translated to the supporters at the Aviva Stadium. There was certainly more ferocity from Glasgow, who had something to prove after the humbling they received in the Champions Cup quarter-finals, but both sides no doubt had one eye on the last-eight.
The Irish province, despite this mediocre display, will remain heavy favourites when the play-offs begin in two weeks’ time. Having finished at the summit, they will get home advantage throughout the run-in, starting with a match against the Scarlets.
As for the Warriors, a tough test with the Stormers awaits as the defending champions take on the inaugural URC victors in the quarter-finals. Following three successive defeats, it is not the greatest way to prepare for that match, but this was at least an improvement on the Benetton shambles.
Glasgow pride restored
Not just from the loss to Benetton in Round 17 but also the last time they faced Leinster. On April 11, Franco Smith’s men were hammered 52-0 by the Irish province in what was an embarrassing result and performance.
On Saturday, they had something to prove – more to themselves than anything else – and the Scotsmen at least put up a fight. As already noted, the game was not of the highest quality, but the Warriors showed they could compete with a strong Leinster outfit.
Although the hosts were not at full strength, with James Lowe, Jamison Gibson-Park, Josh van der Flier and Joe McCarthy among those missing, it was still a mightily powerful 23 that the hosts fielded. And for 80 minutes, they went toe-to-toe with the URC title favourites.
At one stage, it did look like they would be nilled for the second time in a row against Leinster, with Adam Hastings’ poor first-half penalty miss adding to those concerns but, just before the hour mark, Glasgow thankfully managed to break their duck through Horne to give them something tangible to hold onto looking forward.
The shining light
In what was a pretty atrocious match, there was one player that did enhance his reputation and that was wing Tommy O’Brien. Leinster could easily field a full 23 of internationals, but the uncapped speedster very much deserves his place in the team and an Ireland cap surely beckons.
Injuries have hampered O’Brien’s progress over the years but, having managed to string together a series of games since February, the 26-year-old is looking like a Test player in the making. The former Ireland U20 star is quick and has wonderful balance, but his aerial skills and game-understanding marks him out as a special talent.
Even among Leinster’s ‘galacticos’, the wing stands out and on Saturday he was deservedly named man of the match after providing some excitement to an otherwise drab encounter.
