Connacht 0 Leinster 10
The Sportsground may have a new 4G pitch but until it has a roof the ground can’t do much to prevent the rain which often lands hereabouts dampening the occasion.
The rain arrived in the 14th minute and gradually cascaded down before easing somewhat in the second period, and while the vast majority of the 6,997 crowd stayed with the home team all the way on a raucous night in the west, Leinster showed they can win in polar opposite ways.
In the starkest of contrasts to their 13-try, 88-point jamboree with the Sharks a week ago, Leinster rolled up their sleeves and dug deep all night to stifle Connacht’s best efforts.
The visitors’ unrelenting line speed – a mite too quick for the liking of the Clan Terrace who implored the officials to decree offside but to no avail – and tackle execution was the key to a less than fluent win.
They restricted Connacht to zero line breaks, while having four themselves, and according to the immediate post-match stats, astonishingly only missed one of 111 tackles! Josh van der Flier led the way with 13.
Josh Murphy added oomph, while Dan Sheehan and Garry Ringrose carried a running threat, albeit on a difficult night for throwers – and lifters and catchers come to think of it. James Ryan et al won’t enjoy the lineout review.
But that will be even truer of Connacht, who turned down kicks all night but failed to convert upwards of 10 lineouts inside the opposition 22. Connacht defended superbly too, but to come away with nothing from their efforts – notably Paul Boyle, Niall Murray, Josh Murphy and Conor Oliver off the bench.
The early salvos hardly gave an inkling as to what would follow, Leinster striking ominously inside three minutes. John Porch needlessly conceded a penalty inside halfway when grabbing Cormac Foley at the base and Ross Byrne found a good touch inside the Connacht 22 with little or no angle.
Sheehan hit Caelan Doris and Josh van der Flier broke blind off the maul, bouncing Colm Reilly and drawing in Porch before taking the tackle by Shamus Hurley-Langton to offload for Reilly to score. Bynre also landed the conversion near the touchline.
The surprise was that Leinster, unusually, didn’t turn the screw in the first quarter. Ringrose dumped Jack Carty, Jimmy O’Brien reclaimed Byrne’s up-and-under above Conor Fitzgerald and after Ryan won a penalty in the jackal their maul was held up.
Jack Conan and Van der Flier dropped the ball; the latter’s first mistake since around 2019. Connacht weren’t immune either, working space out wide only for a loose pass by Bryan Ralston and also a fumble by Fitzgerald before the rain arrived.
Connacht were living off scraps but Murray stole two throws and put pressure on another for Carty to hack up field and bring the home crowd into the game. Leinster were held up over the line. When Ralston pilfered loose ball after another Leinster handling mistake and Porch kicked a long diagonal, this time they kept the crowd in the game as the penalties turned in their favour.
But twice their lineout malfunctioned, and then despite pounding the Leinster line, Reilly overcooked his skip pass to Mack Hansen and after Byrne surprisingly missed a 40-metre penalty, Connacht twice more went to the corner in overtime but were first held up and then steered over the touchline to leave it 7-0 at the break.
Tadhg Furlong was replaced at half-time, presumably in a preordained move, and soon after they lost Charlie Ngatai when he hobbled off. He was replaced by Robbie Henshaw, once of this parish, to renew acquaintances with Ringrose.
As the rain eased, Connacht had another attacking maul held up after Andrew Porter was pinged in his first scrum duel with Finlay Bealham, much to Porter’s bemusement.
Connacht’s best lineout drive of the night was undone by Caolin Blade going blind without support and being gobbled up. But Blade did add a threat and when Hansen chased his well weighted box kick to engulf Liam Turner, Conor Oliver followed up a big steal with a strong carry only for Connacht to miss another lineout inside the 22 with a knock-on in the air. The Clan Terrace groaned again.
The home side then had to produce two big defensive sets thanks to Hansen and Blade each kicking out on the full, Oliver winning another turnover and Porch tackled Rob Russell into touch.
But the game was put beyond their reach when Doris knocked the ball from Blade’s grasp when tugging the scrumhalf’s arm and Van der Flier picked up and raced 50 metres upfield before being hauled down by Porch.
Van der Flier seemed to hold on to the ball and roll over on the deck, but instead Gavin Thornbury was pinged, and binned, for offside. Ciarán Frawley, taking over the kicking duties, steered the penalty between he posts at the Bohermore Road end, so denying Connacht even a consolation bonus point. That seemed borderline cruel.
SCORING SEQUENCE – 3 mins: Foley try, R Byrne con 0-7; (half-time 0-7); 77: Frawley pen 0-10.
CONNACHT: Conor Fitzgerald; John Porch, Byron Ralston, David Hawkshaw, Mack Hansen; Jack Carty (capt), Colm Reilly; Peter Dooley, Dave Heffernan, Finlay Bealham; Niall Murray, Gavin Thornbury; Josh Murphy, Shamus Hurley-Langton, Paul Boyle.
Replacements: Conor Oliver for Murphy (21-34 mins) and for Hurley -Langton (56), Denis Buckley for Dooley (46), Caolin Blade for Reilly (50), Oisín Dowling for Thornbury (56), Grant Stewart for Heffernan, Jack Aungier for Bealham (both 60), Tom Daly for Fitzgerald, Ciarán Booth for Boyle (both 66).
LEINSTER: Jimmy O’Brien; Liam Turner, Garry Ringrose (capt), Charlie Ngatai, Rob Russell; Ross Byrne, Cormac Foley; Ed Byrne, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; Ross Molony, James Ryan; Caelan Doris, Josh van der Flier, Jack Conan.
Replacements: Martin Moloney for Conan (34 mins), Michael Ala’alatoa for Furlong (h-t), Andrew Porter for E Byrne, Robbie Henshaw for Ngatai (both 47), Joe McCarthy for Ryan (62), Ciarán Frawley for Russell (72), John McKee for Sheehan (80).
Referee: Frank Murphy (IRFU).
