Jordie Barrett: 14 carries, 48 metres made, two defenders beaten, 16 tackles and perhaps most importantly a performance of supreme quality on a night when Leinster fired another broadside in the direction of their Champions Cup rivals with a 52-0 victory over the Glasgow Warriors at the Aviva Stadium.
In the space of six days and two knock-out matches they have scored 18 tries, 114-points and conceded precisely, none, zip, nada. Leinster persuaded Barrett to take a six-month posting to Dublin and for the province’s supporters it has been a treat; this one the cherry on top in quality terms in claiming the player of the match accolade.
Leinster head coach Leo Cullen made six changes from the 62-0 over Harlequins at Croke Park last Saturday, and each proved prescient in underpinning the win over Glasgow, none more so than Barrett promoted from the bench to start alongside Garry Ringrose in the midfield.
[ Leinster 52 Glasgow Warriors 0: As it happenedOpens in new window ]
The New Zealander spoke about the challenge laid down by the Leinster head coach. “That was the question Leo posed to us this week, I suppose it’s easy to get up for a side once, but you need to show a bit of character to come back a week later and do the same thing.
“We’d a good week, because we respect Glasgow as a side. They’ve scored the most tries across the two competitions, they’re a good side so it was imperative we started well.”
Complacency? Barrett acknowledged: “It can, but that was our challenge; if you care enough, you won’t let that be. We paid Glasgow full respect, we prepared really well, and we had to work for it early on. I’m very proud of this performance.
“It [the attack] is something we’ve been working on, it’s nice to get a bit of transfer and put it out there when it matters. You can only beat the team put in front of you. You have to keep getting better. We’ve just got to get better every week and take care of what’s in front of us and jump back into the URC next week.
“The 52 points is nice, but the zero is extra pleasing. We showed a lot of great control and intent with our defence. It’s nice to get both parts right but we’ve got to keep getting better.”
Leinster captain Jack Conan, who went off with a neck issue early, explained that he had taken a bang in training during the week. “I just took a whack to my neck during the week and another in the warm-up, so I knew I was on borrowed time a little bit.
“It should be fine. I was disappointed to come off as early as I did but I don’t think the lads needed me out there in the end. Great win, great to hold them to zero as well. We know how dangerous Glasgow can be with their attacking style. There’s lots of works-on, but it’s a great outing for us.”
