Champs Leinster thrash Glasgow

Gordon D'Arcy: scored his 24th Heineken Cup try

Reigning European champions Leinster cruised to their first win of the new Heineken Cup campaign with a comfortable 38-13 victory over Glasgow Warriors.

Young centre Eoin O'Malley crossed for a brace of tries, in only his third appearance in the competition, as Leinster took a bonus point from their Pool 3 rivals before half-time.

Consistent fly-half Jonathan Sexton booted 11 points in a remarkable first-half display from the champions at the RDS Stadium in Dublin.

They failed to add to their 31-6 lead until second-half stoppage time as Glasgow salvaged some pride through Henry Pyrgos' late consolation try.

But Leinster did grab the last word when Isaac Boss' try, converted by Ian Madigan with the last kick of the match, reopened their 25-point winning margin.

First blood

Warriors had ended Leinster's impressive 28-game unbeaten home run with a 23-19 Celtic League win in September.

But it was always set to be a completely different proposition in European rugby's premier competition.

The visitors did draw first blood when promising fly-half Duncan Weir converted a 40-metre penalty in the opening two minutes.

In the build-up Glasgow head coach Sean Lineen confessed it would take an outstanding performance from every single one of his players to replicate their previous success.

And unfortunately they were the architects of their own downfall as Leinster ruthlessly hit back to race into an almost unassailable half-time advantage.

Seconds after Weir's successful kick, Warriors elected to run the ball out of their 22 and were punished as Leinster quickly regained possession.

Sexton sent a perfect crossfield kick into the right corner where Isa Nacewa instinctively palmed the ball inside for Rob Kearney to finish.

The Ireland fly-half booted the extras from the touchline and added another penalty on the quarter of an hour mark.

Clinical

Warriors were given a golden opportunity to swing the match in their favour when Devin Toner's sin-binning temporarily reduced Leinster to 14 men.

But the clinical hosts shrugged off their numerical disadvantage to stun Glasgow with two quickfire tries from O'Malley.

They claimed their bonus point seconds before the half-time whistle when Gordon D'Arcy touched down.

Glasgow simply could not cope with classy Leinster's pace and power, leaving them with a huge mountain to climb after the break.

Lineen's despondent side deserve credit for starting the second half positively as they piled the pressure on the home tryline.

They won a series of penalties but somehow, with the threat of a penalty try seemingly looming, the Leinster defence managed to hold firm before Glasgow's good work was undone when they conceded a set-piece.

The Scottish side finally got their reward when quick-thinking replacement Troy Nathan broke clear from a ruck to set up Pyrgos for a 74th minute try.

But Leinster deservedly had the final say when Boss crossed in the 91st minute.