Leinster did not produce their best performance but they had enough to beat Scarlets 33-21 in the BKT URC quarter-final at the Aviva Stadium.
Defending champions Glasgow Warriors head to Dublin next week after the top seeds capitalised on second-half tries from Alec Hepburn and Vaea Fifita to claim victory in front of a disappointed crowd of 12,879.
In their first play-off appearance since 2018, the Scarlets recovered superbly from two early tries down to trail just 15-14 at half-time.
James Lowe and Jamieson Gibson-Park both crossed before Tom Rogers responded to the visitors' first real chance.
Blair Murray then saved Sam Prendergast's penalty with a spectacular counter-attack just before half-time.
However, Leo Cullen's men had the upper hand in the final half, with Jamie Osborne and man of the match Hugo Keenan both scoring tries and Jonny Williams scoring the Scarlets' only goal of the game.
Lowe opened the scoring in the fourth minute, firing the ball wide after several partially blocked passes from Keenan and captain Jack Conan.
Then Lowe's deft hands found Conan on the break and the latter put Gibson-Park under the posts to extend the lead to 12-0.
However, the 19th minute marked the start of a Scarlets comeback when winger Rodgers scored confidently after a masterful pass from Sam Costelow. The latter was spot on.
A well-organised defence, including a penalty for Joe Roberts for a turnover, gave the visitors extra impetus and young scrum-half Archie Hughes came on for the injured Gareth Davies.
Despite Prendergast's 47-metre penalty, Ellis Mee intercepted a Leinster pass and returned it into touch, and the tenacious Murray expertly beat Jordie Barrett to reduce the deficit to a single point.
The Irish province, who lost Josh van der Flier to injury, had only themselves to blame for their woes as their decisions were poor at times.
Osborne's well-timed strike on 45 minutes from Prendergast levelled the score at 22-14, with TMO Andrew McMenemy's tough call to run aground benefiting the centre.
By the hour mark, Scarlets were further behind, Costelow missing a penalty and then holding midfielder Hepburn was shown a yellow card for failing to leave the field.
The experienced Leinster players stepped up and Dan Sheehan eventually led the attack, allowing Keenan to run forward from Barrett's pass.
Williams cut the deficit to 30-21 in the 70th minute, firing home after excellent work from Fifita and Marnus van der Merwe in attack.
However, Fifita's subsequent yellow card for a high tackle on Keenan proved the deciding moment, with Prendergast intercepting the decisive penalty.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
