RUGBY Celtic Cup/Leinster 33 Glasgow 24: Perhaps it is Leinster's fate that if there is not one available they will always give themselves a mountain to climb. Having fallen from 21-3 ahead to 21-24 down through 21 unanswered Glasgow points, they needed two late tries from Brian O'Driscoll and Gordon D'Arcy, the man of the match, to put them into the Celtic Cup semi-final.
While Leinster deserved to win, they went through a worryingly porous phase that was only stemmed when O'Driscoll went flying through the air into the left corner on 64 minutes for a two-point lead. The video for the previous 20 minutes will be X-rated.
Leinster began smartly, a David Holwell kick putting them into Glasgow's 22 within minutes, secondrow Des Dillon providing the first thrust into the danger zone.
Dan Parks missed an early, halfway penalty, but Leinster kept probing and within minutes it paid off. With Dillon and Leo Cullen putting in the hard yards on eight minutes, Holwell found O'Driscoll, who fed D'Arcy, who gave it to Girvan Dempsey. The fullback dummied an outside pass, shook off the tackle and ran behind the posts for an eye-catching first score.
Leinster were game to throw the ball around on the firm pitch, searching runs by O'Driscoll and D'Arcy causing a frisson of nerves in the Glasgow defence.
While Parks then landed his second attempt for 7-3 that was answered five minutes later when Victor Costello, lurking wide on the left, finished off several phases of Leinster recycles by trundling over in the corner. Holwell again converted from tight on the sideline for 14-3.
With Dillon and Cullen soundly controlling their lineouts the impression given by the troubled Leinster team was that they wanted not only to win, to meet either Munster or Edinburgh in the semi-final, but also to impress.
Five minutes from the break D'Arcy obliged as Leinster again poured toward the Glasgow goal. The inside centre, showing a touch of acceleration and a shimmy, had the Glasgow cover grasping at the fabric of his shirt but unable to do anything to stop Leinster's third try.
In truth all Glasgow offered in terms of offensive play was one break from scrumhalf Graeme Beveridge in the middle of the pitch, which had Leinster scrambling left wing Sean Lamont into touch a few metres out.
But Leinster closed the half a little peeved at conceding a pair of late penalties from Parks for 21-9.
Leinster brought on Denis Hickie, Shane Horgan and Malcolm O'Kelly at half-time, butGlasgow caught the home team napping on the resumption.
Punching through the middle, they emptied the ball left for Paul Dearlove to power over in the corner, leaving Leinster scratching their heads and Glasgow within a score at 21-14.
The worry now was that Leinster might demonstrate the fragility which they've often been accused of.
And when O'Kelly was penalised for rolling the ball over the Glasgow line, a quick tap sent Lamont on a pitch-length charge to score under the posts. The conversion made it 21-21.
Another Parks penalty made it 21-24 before Leinster pulled themselves together, well-executed O'Driscoll and D'Arcy tries ending the roller-coaster ride.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 8 mins: G Dempsey try, D Holwell con 7-0; 12: D Parks pen 7-3; 17: V Costello try, Holwell con 14-3; 35: G D'Arcy try, Holwell con 21-3; 40+2: D Parks pen 21-6; 40+4: D Parks pen 21-9; Half-time: 21-9; 42: P Dearlove try 21-14; 53: S Lamont try, Park con 21-21; 60: D Parks pen 21-24; 64: B O'Driscoll try 26-24; 70: D'Arcy try, Holwell con 33-24.
LEINSTER: G Dempsey; G Brown, B O'Driscoll, G D'Arcy, K Lewis; D Holwell, G Easterby; R Corrigan (capt), S Byrne, R Nebbett, B Gissing, L Cullen, D Dillon, K Gleeson, V Costello. Replacements: M O'Kelly for Cullen, S Horgan for Brown, D Hickie for Lewis (all half-time); B O'Riordan for Easterby (59 mins); S Jennings for Costello (67 mins); D Blaney for Byrne (74 mins).
GLASGOW: C Howarth; R Lamont, A Henderson, S Barrow, S Lamont; D Parks, G Beveridge; K Tkachuk, S Lawson, E Murray, J Beardshaw, D Turner, S Swindall, J Petrie (c), P Dearlove. Replacements: A Wilson for Beveridge, S Pinder for Swindall (both 50 mins); K Logan for R Lamont (53 mins); A Hall for Beardshaw, A Craig for Henderson (both 62 mins); B Prescott for Murray (73 mins); F Thompson for Lawson (76 mins).
Referee: N Williams (WRU).
