Sloppy Leinster come good in the end

Leinster 38 Glasgow 23: The victory won't camouflage a fitful display, but it's hard to cavil on a night when a depleted Leinster secured a bonus point.

Chris Whitaker came through his first game in a couple of months and there were some decent performances up front.

Certain elements of the basics were better, but the home side were still lax in certain aspects of their game, and against a more ruthless side that will prove more costly.

If Leinster coach Michael Cheika was angry at the interval last week, he would have been incandescent following Leinster's first half last night. A sloppiness permeated the play to the extent that they were causing themselves as many problems as Glasgow posed.

There is some mitigation in the wet conditions, but it doesn't absolve them from the number of basic errors they made. These ran the gamut from missed first-up tackles and poor decision-making to aimless kicking.

Once again the restarts underlined a communication problem as the organisation under the dropping ball was rank.

There were positives during that period, notably the lineout, where Devin Toner excelled, and the loose with Fosi Pala'amo and Brian Blaney prominent.

Jamie Heaslip carried with purpose, and Keith Gleeson did well to link the play, but even when given decent ball the Leinster backs smouldered rather than fired. Denis Hickie alone looked capable of breaching the defence.

Leinster were handed the perfect start when Rob Kearney kicked a penalty from close range, and then on 11 minutes underlined their superiority in the lineout. Toner claimed and the pack rumbled over the line, Gleeson being credited with the touchdown.

Leinster's discipline at the breakdown saw them concede a couple of kickable penalties, and Glasgow outhalf Dan Parks twice converted to make it 8-6. The home side then lost outhalf Christian Warner for 13 minutes with a cut head. Andy Dunne deputised.

A mistake by visiting wing Hefin O'Hare handed over possession in his 22 and Blaney displayed some neat soccer skills and tenacity to claim a try.

Having wrested the momentum, Leinster promptly conceded two tries in eight minutes, the first coming when Luke Fitzgerald was isolated and turned over, and the second when the young fullback slipped off a tackle.

Jon Petrie and Thom Evans crossed for tries to push the Warriors 18-16 ahead.

Kearney's penalty in first-half injury time was the minimum Leinster deserved from sustained pressure inside the Glasgow 22.

Fitzgerald showed great hands to put Hickie over for a try less than 90 seconds after the restart, but Leinster were to be caught again four minutes later.

O'Hare's dancing feet made him an elusive target and on two occasions he beat several tacklers. From the second, the movement culminated in a try for Canadian prop Kevin Tkachuk.

To their credit the Leinster forwards upped their work-rate and started to hammer away around the fringes, with Stephen Keogh and Trevor Hogan making some hard yards.

Kearney kicked a penalty and arguably for the first time in the contest Leinster maintained their discipline and concentration. They nudged their way into the Glasgow 22 and, following a series of battering-ram surges, Whitaker stole around the blindside of a close-in ruck for his side's fourth try and a bonus point.

Glasgow replacement outhalf Colin Gregor tried to run out but was caught behind his own line and from the resultant scrum five, Heaslip was driven over.

A win. A bonus point. Few supporters will quibble but Cheika mightn't be as easily convinced about the performance.

SCORING SEQUENCE: 2 mins: Kearney penalty, 3-0; 11: Gleeson try, 8-0; 13: Parks penalty, 8-3; 22: Parks penalty, 8-6; 27: Blaney try, 13-6; 31: Petrie try, Parks conversion, 13-13; 38: Evans try, 13-18; 40(+7): Kearney penalty, 16-18. Half-time: 16-18. 41: Hickie try, 21-18; 45: Tkachuk try, 21-23; 49: Kearney penalty, 24-23; 60: Whitaker try, Kearney conversion, 31-23; 80: Heaslip try, Dunne conversion, 38-23.

LEINSTER: L Fitzgerald; R Kearney, K Lewis, M Berne, D Hickie; C Warner, C Whitaker; R McCormack, B Blaney, F Pala'amo; T Hogan, D Toner; S Keogh, K Gleeson, J Heaslip (capt). Replacements: A Dunne for Warner (21-34 mins); R Corrigan for McCormack (half-time); McCormack for Pala'amo (58 mins); A Dunne for Berne (63 mins); G Brown for Kearney (70 mins); H Vermaas for Blaney (74 mins); N Ronan for Keogh (77 mins); A Byrnes for Hogan (82 mins); C Willis for Whitaker (83 mins).

GLASGOW WARRIORS: R Lamont; H O'Hare, G Morrison, A Henderson, T Evans; D Parks, G Beveridge; K Tkachuk, F Thomson, M Low; A Newman, A Kellock (capt); A Wilson, J Barclay, J Petrie. Replacements: D Turner for Kellock (8 mins); E Milligan for Thomson (52 mins); B Prescott for Low (58 mins); S Swindall for Petrie (60 mins); S Pinder for Beveridge; C Gregor for Parks (both 69 mins).

Referee: James Jones (Wales).