Guinness PRO12: Glasgow gain revenge for final defeat with 22-20 win over Leinster
Last Updated: 13/09/14 6:12pm
Glasgow Warriors avenged their PRO12 final heartache with a hard-fought 22-20 victory over reigning champions Leinster in an evening of high drama at Scotstoun on Saturday.
Scotland full-back Stuart Hogg held his nerve to land an overtime penalty and seal victory for the Warriors just four months after they were denied a maiden PRO12 crown by the Leinstermen.
Matt O'Connor's men roared to a 34-12 win on home soil at the RDS Arena in May as they claimed back-to-back PRO12 titles, but they struggled to make a case for the defence of the trophy in their season curtain-raiser.
In a breathless affair, Glasgow raced to a 19-3 half-time lead before Leinster produced a thrilling comeback to take a single-point lead with five minutes to play.
There was to be a bitter final twist for Leinster, though, as British and Irish Lion Hogg slotted a three-pointer in the 83rd minute to snatch victory from the clutches of defeat.
Tries from Peter Horne, Jonny Gray and captain Josh Strauss had given Glasgow a commanding lead at the break before a Jimmy Gopperth penalty and converted scores from Jack McGrath and Tom Denton saw Leinster seize the intiative, only for Hogg to land the telling blow from the kicking tee.
Early injury
The game got under way with probably the quickest replacement of the season, in just 42 seconds. The unfortunate man was Leinster centre Noel Reid who went down under a tackle with a leg injury, to be subbed by Ian Madigan.
Glasgow centre Mark Bennett missed a long penalty in the ninth minute but the hosts looked the most adventurous in the early exchanges and this approach brought the opening try in the 17th minute, through stand-off Horne.
The move came following a disrupted Leinster scrum, with Bennett and Pyrgos involved before left winger Tommy Seymour offloaded in the tackle for Horne to score, which Pyrgos then converted.
Gopperth then missed a straightforward penalty for the visitors and soon after dropped a simple pass.
From the scrum, in the 25th minute, Glasgow sparkled before Gray was heaved over from short range with Pyrgos unable to convert.
Six minutes later the third Glasgow try was dotted down, by Strauss who broke a tackle 30 metres out and ran in for Pyrgos to convert.
Comeback trail
Madigan got Leinster on the board with a penalty in the 33rd minute but the half ended with Strauss held up on the visitors' line and Pyrgos unable to convert the subsequent penalty.
Despite coming close from the restart Glasgow could not get the bonus-point try and Leinster's first attack of the second half, in the 51st minute, ended with Gopperth kicking a penalty.
Glasgow's backline was disrupted with the loss through injury of both Horne and centre Alex Dunbar, with Hogg and Sean Lamont coming on.
As the 70th minute approached Leinster established themselves around the home 22 and in a two-minute period scored two tries to take the lead.
First, the pack got over from a line-out with McGrath credited. Then another pack replacement Denton got hold of the ball at a line-out and dived over. Gopperth converted both scores.
Glasgow responded by going to the Leinster line where immense pressure was finished off by a penalty kicked by Hogg to win the game.
