Glasgow 31-21 Leinster: Warriors see off Leinster in PRO14 clash

Glasgow got the better of Leinster in an entertaining PRO14 fixture

Glasgow Warriors maintained their 100 per cent record in the PRO14 as they saw off a depleted Leinster 31-21 in an end-to-end encounter on Friday. 

George Thorne and Nick Grigg went over for a brace of scores each in a Niko Matawalu-inspired first half for Glasgow.

Jamison Gibson-Park, Rory O'Loughlin and Adam Byrne scored for Leinster either side of half-time but it was not enough for Leo Cullen's side who were without 14 Ireland internationals.

Glasgow next travel to play the Ospreys on Friday November 24, while Leinster face the Dragons at home on the same night.

Leinster's Jamison Gibson-Park went over for the game's opening try

Leinster were first on the board at Scotstoun as full-back Jordan Larmour's magnificent weaving run allowed scrum-half Gibson-Park to snipe over from close-range on a penalty advantage.

Glasgow were level under two minutes later, however, as scrum-half Thorne finished a flowing move started by Matawalu, who picked and went down the middle of the pitch, found hooker George Turner on his inside, who then released Horne for a run-in under the sticks.

Leinster regained the lead just four minutes later as Rory O'Loughlin finished off a powerful set of Leinster phases by diving past Matawalu out wide.

Once again the response from Glasgow was prompt as Grigg notched an equalising score, with the architect again the outstanding Matawalu.

Nick Grigg crossed for two first half tries as Glasgow went into the break with a 31-14 lead

Having initially been brought down after a carry, Matawalu showed great knowledge of the rules by releasing the ball on the ground before getting up, playing it again and running straight through the middle of the Leinster defence.

From there he slalomed in and out before handing off to Grigg for a simple finish.

Leinster openside Jordi Murphy was then sin-binned for stopping George Horne after a quick tap penalty, and it was to prove a costly 10 minutes as Glasgow crossed for two more tries.

First George Horne crossed for his second try after second-row Tim Swinson fought for a few extra yards on the ground and opened the pathway for the scrum-half to dive for the line.

Three minutes later and Glasgow were 28-14 ahead after a truly unbelievable passage of play from Matawalu.

Niko Matawalu put in a sensational first half display, creating three Glasgow tries

The Fijian received the ball on his own try-line and proceeded to run the entire length of the pitch, past several challenges at a searing pace, before throwing a pass to Grigg from five metres out, who couldn't fail to finish.

Leinster fly-half Ross Byrne then missed a penalty from 40 metres out and at the other end Peter Horne did not make the same mistake, increasing the lead to 31-14.

Six minutes into the second period and Stuart Cummings was sin-binned for Glasgow after repetitive team infringements and Adam Byrne scored in the corner within a minute for Leinster.

After 61 minutes Glasgow received their second yellow card of the match as Alex Dunbar was sent to the bin for 10 minutes after more repeated infringements but Leinster could not score while he was off the pitch.

Despite plenty of possession and pressure Leinster could not score again and left Scotland without even a losing bonus points as Glasgow remain unbeaten in the PRO14.