Leinster moved ever closer to a place in another Guinness PRO14 final, after a bonus point 40-21 win against the Glasgow Warriors last night at the RDS.
Leo Cullen's side endured a scrappy third quarter of the game, before late tries for Luke McGrath and Cian Kelleher put some gloss on the scoreline for the champions.
Leinster had been coasting early in the second half, with two tries for man of the match Scott Penny, as well as one for Harry Byrne and a penalty try had brought up the bonus point before the break.
They also had a man advantage following a red card to Adam Hastings, who was dismissed after a dangerous aerial collision with Cian Kelleher.
But Harry Byrne's first-half departure with a head injury saw Leinster lose their shape at times in midfield, allowing the Warriors close within seven points by the 53rd minute, with Huw Jones and Rufus McLean both crossing the whitewash.
TRY:
72 mins:
LEINSTER 35-21 Glasgow.
Luke McGrath puts clear water between Leinster and Glasgow with his sixth try of the season.
David Hawkshaw kicks the conversion from the left touchline,
It's LIVE now on eir sport 1!#LEIvGLA #GuinnessPRO14 pic.twitter.com/5aLB7964aJ— eir Sport (@eirSport) February 28, 2021
Head coach Leo Cullen says they made hard work of the game at times.
"It was a very important win, great to get a bonus point as well. I thought the guys started the game well, built up a decent lead. Glasgow had that red card in the first half as well.
"We couldn't really kick on at the start of the second half, if anything it's almost like we took a few mental breaks in the game and suddenly from being 28-7 ahead it's 28-21 and it was a pretty tense period midway through the second half. Credit to the players, they turned it around in the end and got the job done. We get out of here with five points, that's pleasing also."
The result sends Leinster six points clear of Ulster, heading into the pair's meeting in Belfast this Saturday night.
Leo Cullen's side would guarantee themselves a place in this month's final, should they win with a bonus point, while at the same time denying Ulster any match points.
"We know it's going to be a totally different challenge next week, so we'll turn our attention to Ulster now pretty quickly.
"We know it's going to be a massive challenge for us. We have a number of guys away, Ulster will be fully loaded, they're only missing one or two players at the moment. A great challenge for our guys going up there. We know there are a lot of ex Leinster men up there as well, and I'm sure they'll be highly motivated for the game so it's going to be a great challenge for our guys," he added.
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