THERE’S WAS NO shortage of talking points following Leinster’s 41-12 win over Connacht on Sunday night, with Johnny Sexton suffering a suspected fractured cheekbone in the second half, before Leinster Rugby apologised for playing controversial Wolfe Tones song ‘Celtic Symphony’ over their PA system post-match.
Before those two incidents occurred the night had belonged to Leinster winger Jordan Larmour, who delivered a scintillating display and scored two of their seven tries.
Crossing either side of half-time, Larmour was heavily involved throughout, coming off his wing in search of action and weaving his way out of tight spaces with smart footwork.
“Yeah, he’s really hungry,” said Leinster head coach, Leo Cullen.
“You can see it in his actions, he’s looking to get involved in everything. Really pleased with how he went.”
Having missed Ireland’s November internationals due to injury, the 25-year-old – who was last capped at Test level in July 2021 – seems to be hitting a timely run form a month out from the start of the Six Nations.
“You can see with Jordan, it doesn’t sit well when he’s in the rehab group,” Cullen continued.
“He just loves being out there, whether that’s playing or training, and he has a great attitude to the game.
He’s just so hungry for work, that’s the piece with him. He just wants to be involved the whole time, wants to be in the thick of the action all the time.
“He’s very strong, very physical, so we were really pleased with how he went.”
Larmour’s energy and cutting edge was key to helping Leinster pull clear of a spirited Connacht side in the second half at the RDS. Having led by five points at half time, the home side pulled clear after the break, scoring four tries with no reply on their way to a seven-try win.
“In the dressing room there there’s a little bit of frustration,” Cullen added.
“Particularly at halftime, we were very frustrated. We misfired a good few lineouts, which means we don’t really build any sustained pressure on Connacht.
And Connacht, all the stuff we talked about leading into the game, guys having a proper crack and running full steam into things, both sides of the ball, and it took a long while for us to break them down properly.
“We played in fits and starts really. Probably the best bit is the last period of the game but we sort of built a bit of a lead at that point. There’s probably a number of reasons for that; the time of year, winter rugby, we’ve a lot of changes off the back of last week, it’s a relatively short week, guys have had a bit of time off so lots of new combinations.
“We know we had to manage certain players at this stage of the season anyway, so your hand is forced to a certain extent, but it’s a great opportunity and we see a lot of young guys come in, but with that you have to have an acceptance/realisation that it’s not going to be perfect.
“So it’s pleasing to get two wins over the last couple of weeks, which rounds off the interpro series already for us.”
Meanwhile Connacht boss Andy Friend cut a dejected figure after seeing his side fall off the pace in the second half in Dublin 4.
“I said to the boys that I don’t think it’s reflective of the game, but history books will tell us it’s the scoreline,” Friend said.
“I didn’t think it was heads dropping. When you knock off against Leinster, it only needs one individual to knock off in a defensive line, and they’ll flood through. Or one individual, instead of throwing a pass back, they throw it forward, and it’s turnover and Leinster get a set-piece launch.
“I just think it was some individual errors that opened a door for them.”
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