CONNACHT TURNED UP with a passionate, punchy performance on the big occasion, but they weren’t good enough to beat Leinster.
The prospect of spoiling the party clearly inspired Leo Cullen’s side, and while the Connacht support was immense as the new Clan Stand was officially opened, it should be noted that the Leinster fans among the crowd of 12,481 made plenty of noise too.
Whether they hit the road home after their side’s 34-23 victory or stayed the night in Galway to celebrate, those Leinster supporters surely enjoyed seeing their team squeeze Connacht out of the battle in the closing quarter.
It had been a rollicking contest up until that point, with Sean Jansen and Cian Prendergast leading the charge for Connacht as their scrum, including 20-year-old loosehead prop Billy Bohan, made a notable impression.
Connacht were 20-13 ahead with 25 minutes to go but then Leinster took control.
Impressive replacement loosehead Jerry Cahir, on for the injured Jack Boyle, helped to remedy the scrum problems. The rest of the bench added impact. Leinster’s kicking game started to yield rewards. And Charlie Tector began to run through fellas.
And before they knew it, Connacht had been tapped out. They got nothing as Leinster departed with a bonus-point win.
As always, Leinster weren’t totally happy with everything in their performance but a 10th consecutive win cannot be sniffed at.
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The Dexcom Stadium in Galway. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
“Did the game go as well as we would have hoped?” said Garry Ringrose afterwards.
“Probably not, certainly not in that first half. There were a few things that we could have done better. But to come here and win… I’ve been here and lost. I was talking to Caelan [Doris] about his debut here [in 2018], John Muldoon kicking a conversion at the end of the game [as Connacht won 47-10].
“So I have a huge amount of respect for Connacht and the Dexcom, and then the occasion of the new stand.
“We worked hard out there, found a way to win. It’s brilliant to be in a position where we’ve won and then still motivated for the next time to get the chance to put on a Leinster jersey. There’s loads of stuff we can do better.”
Leinster have been saying that much since the very beginning of the season. They had a terrible start, but this win takes them to fourth in the URC table with eight more regular-season games to go.
Interestingly, head coach Leo Cullen referred to Leinster “getting a bit of flak” this season, the latest indicator that this group are motivated to prove their doubters wrong.
They will finish this block of the campaign with Edinburgh’s visit to the Aviva Stadium next weekend, when they will have yet another very different team.
Head coach Leo Cullen joked that Ringrose will be “off sunning himself in Portugal” at Ireland’s pre-Six Nations training camp, along with the rest of the big Leinster contingent.
Cullen said weeks like the one ahead against Edinburgh, when Leinster’s depth is tested, are some of the most enjoyable in his job.
But last night, he was just pleased to get out of the Dexcom Stadium with a four-try win on a night when they refused to fall in line with Connacht’s hope for a happy start to life in front of the new Clan Stand.
Ciarán Frawley scores for Leinster. Tom O’Hanlon / INPHO
Tom O’Hanlon / INPHO / INPHO
“We knew it was going to be a huge occasion because it’s been in the calendar here for a long time,” said Cullen.
“We know we’re coming down to a pretty hostile environment against a team that’s going to be hugely motivated against a lot of lads that know the group well. Even Stu would know the group well as well. So we knew it was going to be challenging.
“There’s lots of moving parts with our group at the moment, so I have to applaud our own players and staff because they’ve worked incredibly hard during these couple of months, where the group is getting a bit of flak maybe at the start of the season because we’re missing a lot of players and we just take it on the chin.
“But they’ve worked hard throughout this period and to still be standing nine weeks in a row now, get a group hungry to come down here, ot’s a credit to the characteristics that these guys show every day because I see them working hard.
“It’s great when you come away from home, hostile environments, all the rest, and you get a bonus-point win.”
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Leinster happy to keep winning after 'a bit of flak' this season
CONNACHT TURNED UP with a passionate, punchy performance on the big occasion, but they weren’t good enough to beat Leinster.
The prospect of spoiling the party clearly inspired Leo Cullen’s side, and while the Connacht support was immense as the new Clan Stand was officially opened, it should be noted that the Leinster fans among the crowd of 12,481 made plenty of noise too.
Whether they hit the road home after their side’s 34-23 victory or stayed the night in Galway to celebrate, those Leinster supporters surely enjoyed seeing their team squeeze Connacht out of the battle in the closing quarter.
It had been a rollicking contest up until that point, with Sean Jansen and Cian Prendergast leading the charge for Connacht as their scrum, including 20-year-old loosehead prop Billy Bohan, made a notable impression.
Connacht were 20-13 ahead with 25 minutes to go but then Leinster took control.
Impressive replacement loosehead Jerry Cahir, on for the injured Jack Boyle, helped to remedy the scrum problems. The rest of the bench added impact. Leinster’s kicking game started to yield rewards. And Charlie Tector began to run through fellas.
And before they knew it, Connacht had been tapped out. They got nothing as Leinster departed with a bonus-point win.
As always, Leinster weren’t totally happy with everything in their performance but a 10th consecutive win cannot be sniffed at.
“Did the game go as well as we would have hoped?” said Garry Ringrose afterwards.
“Probably not, certainly not in that first half. There were a few things that we could have done better. But to come here and win… I’ve been here and lost. I was talking to Caelan [Doris] about his debut here [in 2018], John Muldoon kicking a conversion at the end of the game [as Connacht won 47-10].
“So I have a huge amount of respect for Connacht and the Dexcom, and then the occasion of the new stand.
“We worked hard out there, found a way to win. It’s brilliant to be in a position where we’ve won and then still motivated for the next time to get the chance to put on a Leinster jersey. There’s loads of stuff we can do better.”
Leinster have been saying that much since the very beginning of the season. They had a terrible start, but this win takes them to fourth in the URC table with eight more regular-season games to go.
Interestingly, head coach Leo Cullen referred to Leinster “getting a bit of flak” this season, the latest indicator that this group are motivated to prove their doubters wrong.
They will finish this block of the campaign with Edinburgh’s visit to the Aviva Stadium next weekend, when they will have yet another very different team.
Head coach Leo Cullen joked that Ringrose will be “off sunning himself in Portugal” at Ireland’s pre-Six Nations training camp, along with the rest of the big Leinster contingent.
Cullen said weeks like the one ahead against Edinburgh, when Leinster’s depth is tested, are some of the most enjoyable in his job.
But last night, he was just pleased to get out of the Dexcom Stadium with a four-try win on a night when they refused to fall in line with Connacht’s hope for a happy start to life in front of the new Clan Stand.
“We knew it was going to be a huge occasion because it’s been in the calendar here for a long time,” said Cullen.
“We know we’re coming down to a pretty hostile environment against a team that’s going to be hugely motivated against a lot of lads that know the group well. Even Stu would know the group well as well. So we knew it was going to be challenging.
“There’s lots of moving parts with our group at the moment, so I have to applaud our own players and staff because they’ve worked incredibly hard during these couple of months, where the group is getting a bit of flak maybe at the start of the season because we’re missing a lot of players and we just take it on the chin.
“But they’ve worked hard throughout this period and to still be standing nine weeks in a row now, get a group hungry to come down here, ot’s a credit to the characteristics that these guys show every day because I see them working hard.
“It’s great when you come away from home, hostile environments, all the rest, and you get a bonus-point win.”
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Connacht Galway Leinster Leo Cullen On a Roll