Leinster 20
Connacht 12
LEINSTER WILL CARRY their unbeaten run to Thomond Park next week but the province were made to work hard for this eight-point interpro win over Connacht.
Leo Cullen’s men laid the platform with a dominant first half that saw them register a 14-0 lead through tries from Andrew Osborne and Charlie Tector, but a spirited Connacht side rallied hard after the break.
Entering the final quarter Connacht had cut Leinster’s lead to five points thanks to scores from Oisín Dowling and Shane Jennings and had the home side on the ropes, but they couldn’t find the killer touch as Leinster finished on top to clock their 10th straight win of the season.
The first half saw Leinster play most of the rugby in the Connacht half as the visitors put in a largely excellent defensive effort which was hampered by the concession of nine penalties.
Leinster’s defence wasn’t put under the same pressure but comfortably dealt with anything thrown at them, with Alex Soroka outstanding in the Leinster back row. Leo Cullen will surely have felt his team should have had more than 14 points to their name come the break, and the sight of three stolen lineouts will have been a sore point as the issues of last week’s win over Clermont crept into their game again.
Connacht had to absorb wave after wave of Leinster pressure in the opening stages as the hosts took advantage of the strong breeze. A scrum penalty win allowed Leinster kick to the corner and set up their attack in the Connacht 22, only for Bundee Aki to come up with a big penalty win against RG Snyman.
Another promising Leinster attack ended with an excellent defensive effort from Shane Jennings to win possession back.
Leinster finally carved their way through in the 20th minute, scoring from a clinical strike play off lineout. Luke McGrath sent the ball to Ross Byrne, who showed lovely hands to play in Osborne, with the winger’s clever show and go sending him through a gap to score. Byrne added the extras from the tee.
Connacht’s task was further complicated when Jennings was shown a yellow card for a body check on McGrath five minutes later.
Leinster took advantage of their extra man immediately. From the lineout Connacht’s maul defence initially held up well before Leinster swung the ball out to Jordie Barrett. The New Zealander slipped a pass inside to Charlie Tector and the centre went through far too easily. Byrne’s second conversion put his team 14 points to the good.
Connacht’s best moments were fleeting and ended in the same frustrating fashion. Shortly after the half hour mark they went through 14 phases in the Leinster half before Soroka managed to pinch the ball back from Dave Heffernan.
In the next passage of play Josh Ioane lost the ball in contact after a big hit from Barrett, who was excellent throughout. The tackle saw Ioane forced off as Connacht reshuffled their backline, moving Cathal Forde to outhalf as Santiago Cordero came off the bench.
A Max Deegan 50:22 gave Leinster a chance to build on their lead but Connacht got up to contest and steal it back.
From there Connacht worked their way back into the Leinster half, stringing together a series of passes without punching a hole as Mack Hansen added some smart touches, but again the play ended with Soroka winning a Leinster penalty.
Shortly after the restart Byrne extended Leinster’s lead by adding a penalty.
Connacht then went in search of their opening points with a series of lineouts in the Leinster 22 – one of which ended with Josh Murphy and Snyman squaring up after a coming together in the maul. The passage ended with Connacht’s maul driving for the line but being held up short, with Leinster second row Diarmuid Mangan central to the effort.
Connacht were hammering at the door and as Leinster’s penalty count rose hooker Lee Barron was yellow-carded just moments after entering the action.
Then Connacht forced their way through from a tap penalty. Seconds after being sent in as a replacement, Oisín Dowling touched the ball down after Jack Aungier was stopped short. Forde stood over the conversation but his kick was off target.
Leinster were struggling to get out of their half and Connacht put their foot down.
Piers O’Conor and the increasingly influential Hansen combined nicely to send Aki racing down the left wing before Barrett got back to make an important tackle. Connacht recycled the ball and with Leinster caught narrow, the visitors worked the ball quickly through the hands of Santi Cordero and Cian Prendergast before Jennings went over in the corner, the winger having enough time and space to cut back inside and touch down behind the posts to finish a wonderful team score.
This time Forde made no mistake with the extras, cutting the deficit to five points with 20 still to play.
Now it was Leinster who lifted it, and they were threatening a third try before Andrew Osborne was pinged for a neck roll. Another clever set play just didn’t come off – a short lineout to Snyman moving out the back to Barron and into the hands of Jamison Gibson-Park, but the scrum-half was just forced into touch.
Minutes later Barron was powering for the line after smart play by Gibson-Park and Jimmy O’Brien, but the replacement hooker was denied by a brilliant try-saving tackle by Prendergast.
With the game entering the final five minutes Leinster were reduced to 14 for the second time, O’Brien sent to the line after colliding with Hansen in the air.
Connacht kept coming. Aki’s delayed pass found Aungier and soon Hansen was breaking again. The ball moved to Jennings but the winger was flattened by Barrett. Connacht kept the ball and had numbers up but Forde threw a pass just behind Darragh Murray, and the second row knocked it forward it trying to adjust his body. That was the moment.
Leinster went down the other end through another excellent break by Barrett, and won a penalty which Byrne opted to kick. His strike put Leinster eight clear with only seconds left. That was the game as Connacht’s impressive second half rally came up short.
Leinster scorers:
Tries – Osborne, Tector
Penalty – R Byrne [2/2]
Conversions – R Byrne [2/2]
Connacht scorers:
Tries – Dowling, Jennings
Conversion – Forde [1/2]
LEINSTER: Jimmy O’Brien; Aitzol Arenzana-King (Harry Byrne, 62), Charlie Tector, Jordie Barrett, Andrew Osborne; Ross Byrne, Luke McGrath (Jamison Gibson-Park, 51); Jack Boyle (Michael Milne, 51), Gus McCarthy (Lee Barron, 51), Rabah Slimani (Cian Healy, 51); Diarmuid Mangan (Brian Deeny, 75), RG Snyman; Alex Soroka, Scott Penny, Jack Conan (capt) (Max Deegan, 22) (Ryan Baird, 33 HIA).
Yellow cards: Barron, 52; O’Brien, 76.
CONNACHT: Piers O’Conor; Mack Hansen, Cathal Forde, Bundee Aki, Shane Jennings; Josh Ioane (Santiago Cordero, 31 HIA), Ben Murphy (Caolin Blade, 53); Denis Buckley (Jordan Duggan, 64), Dave Heffernan (Dylan Tierney-Martin, 58), Finlay Bealham (Jack Aungier, 53); Josh Murphy (Oisín Dowling, 53), Darragh Murray; Cian Prendergast (capt), Shamus Hurley-Langton (Conor Oliver., 64), Paul Boyle (Sean Jansen, 53).
Yellow card: Jennings, 26.
Referee: Chris Busby.
Attendance: 33,963.
Why wasn’t Barrett given at least a yellow or at least reviewed in light of ilone and Ulster last night???
@Mark Anthony McNally: The TMO looked at it and thought there was nothing in it.
@Conor Lynott: In the pocket!
@Lulu: Well done for reading Oliver Twist, a wonderful literary achievement on your part.
@Lulu: Bitter much?
@Conor Lynott: thanks for the explanation, enjoy the avocado toast
This drop of in second half of matches is a growing trend for Leinster. Is it that they’re putting too much energy and resources into Neinbar’s rush defence in the first half and look to kill games off before ht? Hard to tell from my armchair but there was a lot of players blowing hard in that 3rd quarter. At 14-0 at ht the game was still too tight to slack off. They need to come out firing in the sh too. Connacht were excellent in the sh to be fair. It’s the best I’ve seen Hansen since prior to his injury, which is great for Connacht and Ireland. I feel also jordi should be at least gotten a yellow but imo a red for a shoulder to the head at high velocity clear out on AKi. Not sure how the tmo couldn’t spot that but could spot the hit on McCarthy by ioane.
@Ian1989: The only reason for that was the rotation. Some players had their first appearance of the season tonight. I wouldn’t worry too much.
@Conor Lynott: it’s happened in a fair few games this season. Last week against clermont Leinster didn’t have the energy levels they did in the first. We know the neinbar rush is one of the most draining defensive set ups there is. I say it’s down to a multitude of factors probably not as clear cut as I nor you are making it. It is something to keep an eye on though as the season progresses.
@Ian1989: They were able to go 80 mins in a European Final and were probably seconds away from winning it. These guys will step it up, have a little faith.
I know I probably have the green tinted glasses on but I really thought Connacht should have won it and we’re the better team overall. I know teams are masters of their own fate but I definitely think the officiating in the first half killed Connacht. It wasn’t equal. The second half proved it when they finally copped on what was going on, particularly in the scrum
@anthony davoren: Connacht should be proud played well very unlucky to lose as someone who supports all 4 sides i just was hopeing they would win at the end
@anthony davoren: I listened to it on the radio,Leinster won the first half and Connacht won the second half, and generally played better. Leinster energy levels dropping in the second half,a bit like Ireland, needs to be addressed.
@Jb Walshe: Leinster dominated the first half , Connacht certainly did not dominate the second half. If Leinster had a decent lineout then they would have won by a larger margin. Connacht certainly did not deserve to win.
So so near for Connacht away from
home and could have beaten Leinster with all their resources coaches and players. Well done Connacht some appalling decisions by the ref and not even a TMO intervention of head on head to Bundee.. Really shocking. I would be embarrassed if I was a Leinster player or supporter.
I can’t see Leinster doing anything in Europe again this year like previous years. IRFU need to wise up regarding resources just my opinion. Connacht should be proud of their display….
@Liam Joyce: This was a great opportunity for Connacht , full strength against a very weakened Leinster side. However unfortunately it’s the same old story, shoulda, coulda woulda.
@Liam Joyce: “IRFU need to wise up regarding resources just my opinion”… how do you mean?
Great match between the form teams in Ireland right now. Different level to Ulster vs Munster yesterday. If Leinster had a better functioninglineout it would have been more. Breakdown was a mess. Baby needed to control it better
@Conor Lynott: if the officiating had been equal in the first half Connacht would have won
@anthony davoren: https://www.unitedrugby.com/match-centre/202401/united-rugby-championship/leinster-rugby-vs-connacht-rugby-2024-12-21/280922#tabs-stats It was 14 penalties to 13 so to say referee was not equal is utter nonsense. If it was 14-1 you’d have a point. Away with ya.
@Conor Lynott: It’s not the ref’s job to ensure penalties are evenly distributed! The ref is there to enforce the rules.
@Tom O’ Donnell: Did I say otherwise? No. I’m saying that to imply that the ref only officiated one team is rubbish.
@anthony davoren: Toally agree it was appalling. Head on head on Aki not even referred to the TMO..
@Conor Lynott: ugh I dont think they were too far off yesterdays game to be fair
@Liam Joyce: The TMO looked at it. Not everything the TMO looks at goes on the big screen. Obviously both TMO and referee had an issue with it.
@Conor Lynott: didn’t see game, but that you used stat doesn’t mean that the officiating was equal, think you know that, or at least should. Poor counter argument.
@Kingshu: Watch the game, there’s a good lad, then we can talk.
@Conor Lynott: dont need, game is irrelevant to point out the stat you used doesn’t in any way counter the original claim. I hope your intelligent enough to realise that, but starting to question that as this is 2nd time had to point it out and you still don’t seam to know.
@Kingshu: Some stats are misleading like offloads, as it records individual performances, not the overall attacking structure. But penalties and cards are the only way to measure discipline. There’sno other info with which to tailor your performance to a particular referee. The penalty stats tell you that discipline was poor on both sides, and both sides could have prepared for Busby better. Dealing with hypotheticals is stupid as there’s no way to quantify it objectively. So yes, until other information comes into existence, penalties conceded and cards is what we have, as the naked eye is unreliable. Consider anyone who disagrees with you stupid, but I would question your intelligence in choosing to be here, you clearly aren’t emotionally intelligent enough to handle disagreement.
Not pretty. Leinster will really have to tidy up their discipline if they’re going to win something this year. Silly mistakes but it is basically their B and bits of C team.
Connacht played the smarter rugby,had every chance, should have nicked this one,and not getting a lower bonus point is criminal
Felt like the first time in a while that Mack was really on it . Great to see
Enjoyed that game lots young talent played well tough game some big hits i know it was stop start but enjoyed it all
@Shanie: that 2nd half was a great watch especially after connacht figured out how to get around blitz defense which was great to see. Thought Mangan looked very good
@scott casey: Yes Mangan and the number 6 few more looked really good hansen looked lively but he looked so cold taught he be ust to the cold by now
@Shanie: Really happy to see Hansen coming back to himself again. I thought Charlie Tector was really good considering Jordie didn’t have the best of games inside him. Mangan and Saroka did ok but I thought that Connacht overwhelmed us at the breakdown and we allowed them to make a mess of the rucks.
@Paul Ennis: Paul, Jordan was player of the match. He was the difference between the sides.
Big fan of forde when playing centre but he struggled tonight with his passing when he moved to 10 which cost connacht when they were on the ascendancy in the 2nd half.
Good competitive match. The intensity brought a lot of errors but Leinster’s little bit of extra class won out. It was a great night for Leinster’s young academy lads, gaining in experience. Lee Barron improved the lineout for Leinster but still not good enough.
Great second half… another error strewn performance from Leinster, but I was very impressed with Charlie Tector. Barrett and Snyman had off days but we got away with it. Leinster’s discipline went to hell in the 2nd half as Connacht improved but it made for entertaining rugby at least. The yellow cards did alot of damage and Jimmy was lucky that Hansen’s landing wasn’t worse.
@Paul Ennis: Barrett was MOTM. Snyman was decent. What are you expecting? Jesus, uou Leinster lads have some notions.
@Paul Ennis: Tector was a humdinger with the u20s and has a bright future ahead of him.
@JJB: IMO Bundee should have been MOTM..
@Liam Joyce: That’s a fair shout. I didn’t think Barrett was great and maybe I am expecting too much of him… but I definitely don’t think he deserved MOMTM
@Liam Joyce: The Connacht centres opened up like the red sea for Tector’s try. Bundie badly at fault.
@Liam Joyce: Bundee was pretty good which is unfortunate because I’d been planning to say he’d been a spectator at the Aviva in successive weekends. The pen at the end was probably Ulster’s best bit of news since they decided to rest Stockdale in Cardiff.
How the barret clear out wasn’t looked at was beyond shocking it cud have been a red and the looking they did to to make contact for the mcarthy one was near as bad.busby had whistle in mouth ready to give penalty 10 meters out at the end but forgot connaught may have won for a split second so ignored it
Is running Mac attack at 10 a crazy idea?