United Rugby Championship: Leinster 20 Connacht 12
Leinster looked like they were going to romp home to keep alive their unbeaten run in the United Rugby Championship, but in the end Jordie Barrett was happy to kick the ball off the field at the Aviva Stadium after a resurgent Connacht fought back, spooked the home side and could have nicked a precious win in the second half.
It turned what looked like a straightforward Leinster win into a competitive last 30 minutes and a near-miss day for Connacht, who faced a Leinster team that had made 13 changes in personnel from the one that beat Clermont last week in the Champions Cup.
While Connacht started brightly with Bundee Aki offloading twice in the opening 60 seconds, the first 15 minutes was far from fluid rugby with reset scrums blighting the play. On a cold night that hardly warmed the festive crowd.
Leinster were holding the better territory and had squeezed Connacht into the right corner with a few lineouts and five-metre scrums. Lots of pressure but Connacht were firing bodies into contact. Leinster might have become frustrated as Charlie Tector made some good ground and RG Snyman too, but the scoring breakthrough came quickly enough to prevent that from setting in.
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A Leinster lineout on the left was whipped out through three pairs of hands and with Andrew Osborne on a loopy run. It caught the Connacht defence open and the Leinster left wing ran in at the post for an easy Ross Byne conversion and a 7-0 lead.
Shortly after that a rash challenge on Luke McGrath by Shane Jennings rightly earned the Connacht winger a spell in the sinbin. It didn’t take Leinster long to extract points. A pop-up pass from Jordie Barrett for Tector to wriggle through a gap and another Byrne conversion had Leinster 14-0 ahead and looking comfortable.
Santiago Cordero came into the game on 32 minutes for Connacht when outhalf Josh Ioane, just back from injury, left for a HIA check that he subsequently failed. But Leinster may look at two fumbled attacking lineouts in the first half as missed opportunities. Still, it was the home side attacking into the Connacht 22 as the half closed, with the visitors on a worrisome nine penalties conceded at that point.
Within a few minutes of the restart, a Byrne penalty kept the scoreboard ticking over at 17-0 and it seemed then Leinster were comfortable in their lead.
But Connacht had come to play and as the match became a little tetchy and Connacht upped the tempo and urgency, there was a momentum swing for 20 minutes, with Oisín Dowling scoring the first Connacht try on 52 minutes.
Shortly after Jennings romped in after a two on one with Jamison Gibson-Park left the replacement scrumhalf stranded. Both Mack Hansen and Aki were involved in the build up, and at 17-12 the match had been broken wide open.
Connacht captain Cian Prendergast cleverly held up the ball when Lee Barron was over the line on 71 minutes. Barron had just come back from a yellow card and Connacht had taken hold of momentum. Jimmy O’Brien also saw the sin bin as Connacht continued to push hard. But a late penalty from Ross Byrne to make it a two-score game at 20-12 settled the issue, Connacht disappointed, Leinster relieved.
SCORING SEQUENCE – 20 mins: A Osborne try, R Byrne con, 7-0; 27: C Tector try, R Byrne con, 14-0; Half-time 14-0. 43: R Byrne pen, 17-0; 52: O Dowling try, 17-5; 60: S Jennings try, C Forde con, 17-12; 80: R Byrne pen, 20-12.
LEINSTER: J O’Brien; A Arenzana-King, C Tector, J Barrett, A Osborne; R Byrne, L McGrath; J Boyle, G McCarthy, R Slimani; D Mangan, RG Snyman; A Soroka, S Penny, J Conan (capt).
Replacements: M Deegan for J Conan (22 mins); R Baird for Deegan (33); L Barron for McCarthy, M Milne for Boyle, C Healy for Slimani, J Gibson-Park for McGrath (all 51); H Byrne for Aranzana-King (62); H Byrne for King (62); B Deeny for Mangan (74).
Yellow cards: L Barron (52 mins), J O’Brien (75).
CONNACHT: P O’Conor; M Hansen, C Forde, B Aki, S Jennings; J Ioane, B Murphy; D Buckley, D Heffernan, F Bealham; J Murphy, D Murray; C Prendergast (capt), S Hurley-Langton, P Boyle.
Replacements: S Cordero for Ioane (32 mins); J Aungier for Bealham, O Dowling for J Murphy, C Blade for B Murphy, J Jansen for Boyle (all 52); D Tierney-Martin for Heffernan (57); C Oliver for Hurley-Langton, J Duggan for D Buckley (both 63).
Yellow card: Jennings (26 mins).
Referee: C Busby (IRFU).
Attendance: 33,963.
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