Glasgow Warriors v Leinster Pro14 Final 25th May 2019

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Glasgow Warriors v Leinster
Pro14 Playoff Final
Celtic Park
Glasgow

25th May 2019
KO 18.30

Live on Premier Sports

Well the last game of the season for the Pro14 and I don't think many people will disagree with the fact that the two best teams in the league are meeting each other in the final.

The Ladyboys from Dublin, who think that winning trophies is their birth right and have a trophy cabinet back home which kind of suggests that they might be right, against the Mighty Glasgow Warriors, who may not get the chance of another home final in a citadel of Glaswegian sport, for a long long time.

History suggests Leinster for another win and the bookies, always good judges of these sorts of things would concur. However Glasgow have been in sparkling form ever since their spanking by Sarries in the Euro quarters. Rather than depress them, it seems to have inspired them and they have gone on quite a run since then, dispatching Ulster, Leinster (in Dublin), Edinburgh and finally dishing out a hammering to Ulster, the like of which no one really saw coming, in their semi final. They are on form, are confident and are playing some sparkling rugby.

Leinster, it is probably fair to say, a bit like Ireland this season, have not quite been firing on all cylinders. They to received a lesson from Sarries in the Euro finals and can no longer claim to be the best in Europe. Still despite that, they are still grinding out the results. Munster threw the kitchen sink at them in the first half of their semi but could not get over the line, Leinster won it comfortably enough in the end, but at the expense of losing Devin Tooner to a bad looking knee injury.

So what is the final going to come down to?

Leinster have the big game mentality and are devilishly hard to score against, but yet this will be their third big game in three weeks and what have they got left in the tank if it becomes another war.

Glasgow have the ability to score tries against anyone and Leinster will have to be at their best defensively to close them down. Glasgow will also have the home advantage and probably a much bigger proportion of the crowd, despite an ill judged attempt to envoke a bit of sectarianism by Leo Cullen.

My feeling is that Glasgow have to start well and get their noses in front. Leinster are at their best when out in front and shutting down a team chasing a lead. If Glasgow can get off to the kind of start they did against Ulster and can maintain it, then the efforts of the past three weeks may start to take their toll. If that does not happen though, the kicking and power game of Leinster will be hard to overcome.

Either way a great game at a great venue beckons!

Glasgow going to really miss Hogg - non of the other backs can kick!

mikey_dragon wrote:Should have been red

It's Owens who is reffing, nuff said.

After 23 phases of anti rugby Leinster finally gets penalised.

Glasgow needs to score quickly now

Game on!!

Can they?

Lovely try. Fair play Glasgow. All to play for now. Great drama and great final.

Both hornes have made a big impact

Jaaaaysus what a game

Glasgow look out on their feet - just nothing left

This scrum will definitely go down a few times with s minute left

One team wants to play rugby. The other team wears blue.
C'mon!

Well done Leinster.

Well done Leinster.
Hard luck Weegies.
Thanks both for a hell of a match.

Great game. Both sides made it a great final.out of breath just watching.
Can't wait for the world cup

Deserved win for Leinster - did s professional job and Glasgow just didn't take their opportunities when they had them.

Incredible final!

So gutted! Glasgow did so well, couldn't have given more really.

Unlucky Glasgow. Came up against another team who just out muscled you

Flash rugby is good to watch but again the pragmatic power game shows how championships are won.

Shame to see most of the crowd left immediately - that Glasgow performance deserved an ovation

That opening quarter was pretty crucial, Glasgow were on top but couldn't get that second try. That may have opened the flood gates a bit like against Ulster and forced Leinster to play a bit more. As it was, Leinster had the scoreboard to slow it down and frustrate Glasgow into submission. I really don't like it, it's slow and ugly but it wins trophies and big games.

Glasgow had much better balance to their game this season and it'll only get better as the young forwards and backs progress.

Harley probably should have been benching and Wilson starting but otherwise team selection was fair by Rennie.

Nigel Owens reffed it well I'd say and well done Leinster, a deserved victory and pretty decent season for them.

Great day pish result, awful stadium.

Eldow playing in the background. Love that song

bsando wrote:That opening quarter was pretty crucial, Glasgow were on top but couldn't get that second try. That may have opened the flood gates a bit like against Ulster and forced Leinster to play a bit more. As it was, Leinster had the scoreboard to slow it down and frustrate Glasgow into submission. I really don't like it, it's slow and ugly but it wins trophies and big games.

Glasgow had much better balance to their game this season and it'll only get better as the young forwards and backs progress.

Harley probably should have been benching and Wilson starting but otherwise team selection was fair by Rennie.

Nigel Owens reffed it well I'd say and well done Leinster, a deserved victory and pretty decent season for them.

Agree with that - Glasgow were chasing the game which is exactly what they didn't want to end up doing

If only Glasgow had the Edinburgh pack the result would have been different. Backs looked as good if not better than Leinster but Gray is not the man he was only a season or two ago and Harley could have done more. Pete Horne surprisingly decent when he came on. Hard lines the wedge

bico wrote:If only Glasgow had the Edinburgh pack the result would have been different. Backs looked as good if not better than Leinster but Gray is not the man he was only a season or two ago and Harley could have done more. Pete Horne surprisingly decent when he came on. Hard lines the wedge

The issue is that Glasgow need their lightweight pack so they can play the high tempo game that the fake tan and hair gel fellas like to play.

If you have Glasgow the Edinburgh pack, they’d get plenty possession but the game would be played slower which is not how hoggy et al like it.

What Glasgow do need though is a proper back row so they can feast on turnover ball and counter attack. This is why my master plan is so brilliant but it’s poo pooed by Flounder. G Horne isn’t getting enough game time at Glasgow. J Ritchie isn’t getting enough game time at Edinburgh. Swap em.

Jamie Ritchie at 7 and out yer man Gibbons ar 6 and Glasgow would have a far better attacking back row.

G Horne would then have an absolute armchair of a platform to fire the ball about at Edinburgh.

RDW wrote:Deserved win for Leinster - did s professional job and Glasgow just didn't take their opportunities when they had them.

Incredible final!

Yeah really good final, top league.

Agree that an Edinburgh pack playing the Glasgow way just wouldn't work - it's not that simple. It is fair to say that Harley was a passenger though and showed again that he's a good club player but that's it. Gray was also outplayed by Cummings - Cummings really threw himself about where's Gray was smashed back in several tackles, and made some key knock ons. Sadly Gray's recent form wasn't carried into the final.

Glasgow's best players were their young guns - both Fagersons, Cummings and Steyn. Both hornes made real impact off the bench.

P.s. tattie - moving an openside to 6 and playing Ritchie at 7 won't solve Glasgow's back the physicality issues. Moving someone like Bradbury makes more sense.

Yeah the young forwards were very impressive for Glasgow. Very few errors!

Crap weather. Booing Glasgow fans. Ok stadium. Perfect result.
Great send off for Sean O’Brien (ever-sporting Sexton), Nick McCarthy, Jack McGrath, Noel Reid - thanks for the memories.

That was some hit on Luke MCGrath

http://www.balls.ie/rugby/glasgow-tackle-luke-mcgrath-411151

RDW and Tigertattie-I hear what you are saying but is the Glasgow way something that should be continued with. It seems to serve them well until it really matters and they come up against the bigger teams-Saracens, Leinster, Edinburgh etc etc. As has been rightly said the backrow is lightweight. High tempo All Blacks stuff is great if it always works. However it has been shown this is not the case on many occasions in recent times.

Hope we never have to go back there, what a terrible place for a rugby game. Complete dump and totally unprepared.

Eejit wrote:Hope we never have to go back there, what a terrible place for a rugby game. Complete dump and totally unprepared.

47,000 in the gates so highest attendance final so far.

Pot Hale wrote:

Eejit wrote:Hope we never have to go back there, what a terrible place for a rugby game. Complete dump and totally unprepared.

47,000 in the gates so highest attendance final so far.  

Tickets sold maybe, but certainly didn’t look like it in the ground. There were Folk queuing for half an hour at a time, card machines not working, staff that weren’t arsed coupled with the fact that the ground is in he middle of nowhere and they left folk not in the know to wander around the east end of Glasgow trying to get back to the town.

Eejit wrote:

Pot Hale wrote:

Eejit wrote:Hope we never have to go back there, what a terrible place for a rugby game. Complete dump and totally unprepared.

47,000 in the gates so highest attendance final so far.  

Tickets sold maybe, but certainly didn’t look like it in the ground. There were Folk queuing for half an hour at a time, card machines not working, staff that weren’t arsed coupled with the fact that the ground is in he middle of nowhere and they left folk not in the know to wander around the east end of Glasgow trying to get back to the town.

I was one of them. But I managed to work it out by following the large exiting crowd going in one direction and then queuing to get into Bridgeton station and jamming onto the train.

The weather did not help certainly but good natured people around despite ones like the ar$eholes around me who had to boo at everything negative for their team and the Leinster pantomime villains like Sexton.

Very friendly, courteous and helpful staff in the stadium and I thanked them on the way out.

The very low Leinster turnout was a bit surprising. Was there more than a couple of thousand at the game?

bico wrote:RDW and Tigertattie-I hear what you are saying but is the Glasgow way something that should be continued with. It seems to serve them well until it really matters and they come up against the bigger teams-Saracens, Leinster, Edinburgh etc etc. As has been rightly said the backrow is lightweight. High tempo All Blacks stuff is great if it always works. However it has been shown this is not the case on many occasions in recent times.

Well as a Munster fan I have to disagree.
Sure, Glasgow didn't win but they were desperately unlucky with the weather. A dry day and it could have easily been a different story.


Plus realistically Glasgow find it hard to hang on to their best players while the likes of Saracens sign up the best of the best.


Glasgow stand out because of their style of play. If they were to switch back to a more normal style then chances of success would diminish.

Well done Leinster, we can't complain about the result as we let the match get away from us and had to much to do when we mounted our final push.

Leinster are the best side around for hanging onto the ball and grinding it out in those situations.

It was a cracking match though and the atmosphere in the ground was electric. Glasgow have a great set of fans who are proud of their team and showed it.

Some of the organisation was poor though. The fan zone was a joke. If you had joined the beer queue there you would have missed the whole game it was so long. We gave up on that and went round the front to see the teams come in. We bumped into Irn Bru and Jimbo there and had a good catch up before heading into the stadium to get out of the rain.the beer situation was just as bad inside though, with nothing available on draught a legacy I suppose of the fact that they don't sell alcohol at Scottish football games.

The beer situation apart everything else was fine and I enjoyed the Celtic Park experience. I am sure it will be the stadium of choice if the final ever comes back to Glasgow.

A fee what it's from the game mainly around the weather for me. Would we have played better on a dry track, probably. But the again so might Leinster.

We were pretty close at the end of the day and a lot of our youngsters played very well.

I thought Cummings was outstanding and may have played Ritchie Gray out of the WC squad

At least Glasgow won something, they've taken the title from Ulster. Next season you can kick off as the Glasgow Boo Boys. Congratulations.

The booing started when Sexton was taking an age to kick and never really stopped. A combination of that, a lack of beer and terrible weather compounded it a bit. Naturally there was a more casual crowd than at Scotstoun but there was plenty booing in the stadium last year in Dublin for Leinster Scarlets. Just part of the experience at these larger events I’m afraid.

I disagree with Gee, I was Really unimpressed with the stadium and I would be really disappointed if we had to go back there again. If Glasgow was going to host an event like that again I’d hope it goes to Ibrox (assuming they fix the pitch issue) or Hampden by the merit of the fact that they are easy to get to and surrounded by pubs.

As to the actual rugby, Chuffed we actually made the final after disappointment in recent years. Sort of got dragged into a bit of an arm wrestle and fair play to Leinster for doing so - they’re some team. I thought the man with the whistle had a really poor game, but we can’t really complain there - Glasgow left far too many points out on the park and didn’t convert. A three point Leinster win was probably a fair score on reflection. Still gutted though!

Any ideas on where the final will be next year? Tenerife? Pafos? Ayia Napa!?

Don't suppose you're a Rangers fan are you Eejit?

There's chat of Wales finally hosting a final but it's not confirmed yet.

I am a Rangers fan of course so mark my objection to Celtic Park with an asterisk, but I’d hope even the biggest of Celtic fans would be able to see yesterday was a complete shambles!

Cardiff would be ace but I’d love it if it was Rome. What a weekend that would be.

There was some symbolic episode's to it no doubt, the fan zone and the beer situation were rubbish. I paid £10 for effectively 2 small cans of beer. I received not to get back in the queue again after that.

Trouble is I don't think it would be better in any of the other stadiums in Glasgow, they are just not set up for selling booze at matches.

I enjoyed Ibrox at the Commonwealth Games a few years back and it could be ok, but we definitely got a good view at Celtic Park and you would not get that at Hampden for sure.

Anyway, we had our home final and expect to be on the road for z few years now.

Surely it has to be in Wales next and then Italy

My thoughts on yesterday's game for what it's worth, It was my first visit to Celtic Park and I took my dad and 2 American friends to the game. Getting there was simple, the stadium was great, view of game was outstanding but these are the only plus points. The queues for beers was awful. And the bit that really p1ssed me off was the situation with public transport. It was a joke. To take over 90 minutes to get back to the hotel is disgraceful. My father is 73 years old and it was a bit of a struggle at the end for him. I have a theory though. Celtic are used to big crowds. But 95% of home fans can walk to the ground. Plus in football away fans travel mainly on buses to help control any trouble. Therefore public transport was the same as a normal football match.
Personally I hope it goes to Italy next year but i wouldn't mind it in Cardiff

RDW wrote:Don't suppose you're a Rangers fan are you Eejit?

There's chat of Wales finally hosting a final but it's not confirmed yet.

The Welsh won't turn up. They seem to hate the league and chances of a welsh team being in the final are slim.

profitius wrote:

RDW wrote:Don't suppose you're a Rangers fan are you Eejit?

There's chat of Wales finally hosting a final but it's not confirmed yet.

The Welsh won't turn up. They seem to hate the league and chances of a welsh team being in the final are slim.

I’d take it on the road. Somewhere nice like Italy, Spain or France rather than Glasgow or Dublin.

Firstly, congrats Leinster - you know how to win, and thats exactly what you did.  I enjoyed large parts of the game, but the weather really hindered it as a spectacle - I think it could have been an absolute classic if the weather was dry.  As it was, Leinster experience and a couple of Glasgow mistakes took the sting out of the game - as soon as Leinster went two scores ahead, in those weather conditions, they were never likely to lose.  

The turning point for me was the Hogg charge down and then the inability for Glasgow to score in the next passage of play, when they were camped on the Leinster line - Hastings only had to give one pass and Sam Johnson was in.  That being said, i'm proud of the way Glasgow played - rugby needs a counterpoint to the relentless, physical and sometimes monotonous grind that has brought Leinster and Sarries their success, there is room in the sport for a variety of styles.

As for the match day experience, I wasn't there so can't comment on specifics - but i'm not that surprised that the bar situation was poor, given the fact that Alcohol is banned at the football.  I think that the Pro 14 really need to look at the dates and locations of future finals, and pick somewhere that is used to hosting rugby or multi-sport events - if the Scottish Cup was an old firm game, that could have been an absolute disaster.

Special mention also to Scott Cummings - I really didn't think he had that type of performance in him, he was my MoM....he may well just have booked his place onto the WC squad with that showing.

https://www.rugbypass.com/news/why-stuart-hogg-couldnt-get-back-on-the-field-in-his-last-game-for-glasgow-warriors

Hogg temporarily lost vision and was feeling sick. Well done to the docs for immediately removing him without question.

As the dust settles it seems that many fans are saying the overall stadium experience was terrible.

I think the lack of planning and assistance from the council/Celtic park have truly shot Glasgow in the foot. So many fans are saying they’d never attend another match like that will get back to the pro 14 big wigs. If the final is in Scotland again it can only be played at Murrayfield so Glasgow’s chance of a “home” final may be consigned to the history books.

The thing is, it wasn’t anything major that was the issue it was lots of little things that added up to pretty bad experience overall. It’s a horrible location, bad travel, enormous queues, bad planning, too little beer and abusive Celtic fans. I feel sorry for those that paid a lot of money to travel to see it, as I’m not sure they got their money’s worth. I hope the club get the message loud and clear and ensure that we don’t go back to that ground for future European games.

It pains me (greatly) to say this but Murrayfield is an infinitely better experience.