Hello, and welcome to our live coverage of Leinster against Connacht.

Apologies for the slight delay. Here are the teams:

Connacht: G Duffy (cpt), B Tuohy, E Griffin, K Tonetti, T O’Halloran, N O’Connor, P O’Donohoe; B Wilkinson, A Flavin, R Loughney, G Naoupu, M McCarthy, M Kearney, J O’Connor, J Muldoon.

Replacements: E Reynecke, D Buckley, D Rogers, E McKeon, TJ Anderson, F Murphy, M Jarvis, H Fa’afili

Leinster: I Nacewa; D Kearney, E O’Malley, B Macken, A Conway, I Madigan, I Boss; J McGrath, R Strauss, J Hagan. L Cullen (cpt), D Browne, R Ruddock, K McLaughlin/S Jennings, L Auva’a.

Replacements: S Cronin, H van der Merwe, N White, D Toner, S Jennings/J Murphy, J Cooney, N Reid/F Carr, L Fitzgerald

Jarvis has just hit a difficult penalty marginally wide. Connacht have started well.

Leinster have really been under the cosh in these opening stages. And Connacht have another opportunity to make their dominance count with a penalty.

Again, Jarvis drags it to the right of the posts and wide. In his defence, it does look pretty windy out there.

Connacht 3-0 Leinster: This time Jarvis makes no mistake with a straightforward kick in front of the posts to give Connacht a well-deserved lead.

Connacht 3-3 Leinster: An immediate response from the visitors, as Nacewa converts another penalty that was straight under the posts but relatively far out.

Leimster 6-3 Connacht: Another penalty for Leinster, as Connacht are penalised for deliberately collapsing the scrum, and Nacewa does well to convert from a difficult angle.

Leinster are beginning to dominate now, and are deep in opposition territory at the moment.

The play has currently stopped, as Ian Madigan receives treatment for a bloody nose.

Frustrating for Connacht, as Kearney drops a pass following a period of sustained pressure.

Connacht 3-9 Leinster: Another penalty for Leinster, and Nacewa maintains his 100% record with another perfectly judged kick. Even Johnny Sexton would proud of Nacewa’s efforts so far.

For all their pressure, Connacht still find themselves six points behind this clinical Leinster side, largely thanks to Nacewa’s excellence.

HALF TIME: CONNACHT 3-9 LEINSTER

So it’s half time in what has been a closely-fought encounter. Connacht will feel a tad disappointed not to have capitalised more on their early dominance. Leinster, meanwhile, have performed competently without ever really getting out of second gear.

The second half is underway after the referee’s belated arrival from the dressing room.

Again, Connacht have begun the half well, and have spent most of their time in Leinster’s half without really looking capable of troubling them unduly.

Penalty for Leinster. This game appears to be slipping from Connacht’s grasp.

Connacht 3-12 Leinster: And again, Nacewa makes no mistake to stretch Leinster’s lead.

(INPHO/James Crombie)

It hasn’t been the most free-flowing game, with the windy conditions making it difficult for two the teams to play with ball in hand.

YELLOW CARD FOR ISAAC BOSS!

Can Connacht now capitalise on their man advantage? It’s now or never for Eric Elwood’s side.

Brian Tuohy looks to have suffered a serious injury unfortunately, and is stretchered off the field.

TRY FOR CONNACHT!

Connacht 8-12 Leinster: Tiernan O’Halloran sells a dummy to his marker and powers over the line, as Connacht get a much-needed try. Matt Jarvis hits the conversion to the left of the posts.  Game on.

Connacht 8-15 Leinster: Some diligent defending from Connacht is not enough to prevent Leinster from winning a penalty, which Nacewa duly converts.

Another move breaks down due to a knock-on from O’Halloran, as Connacht manfully attempt to score another try. They have performed reasonably well today, but seem to lack the extra bit of class which Leinster possess.

YELLOW CARD FOR LEO CULLEN! The big man is effectively sent off, due to a dangerous tackle in the lineout.

TRY  FOR CONNACHT!

Connacht 13-15 Leinster: Try for Connacht as the ball is driven over the line following a lineout. It’s not clear who exactly scored the try amid the numerous bodies but we’ll confirm that as soon as possible.

That last conversion was missed again by the way. If Connacht had a kicker as skilled as Nacewa, they would surely be in the lead by now.

Connacht have a scrum with less than a minute to go inside their half. Can they steal it?

Incredible. A drop goal attempt from Connacht is adjudged to have gone just under the posts by the video referee. They’ll be heartbroken.

FULL TIME: CONNACHT 13-15 LEINSTER

Leinster really got away with that. They looked to be on auto-pilot for considerable portions of that game, and were fortunate not to be punished. Luckily, a fine performances from Nacewa, in which he had five successful kicks from five, got them out of jail.

Isa Nacewa has pointed to a “lack of composure” and an inability to “play smartly” as reasons for Leinster’s underwhelming second-half performance, and admitted it was difficult to play, given the conditions.

Right, that’s it for me. Thanks for reading and commenting. We’ll be back with more liveblogs later this week. Also, happy New Year!