Leinster Rugby triumphed over Connacht with a 33-7 victory in their last match at the RDS before the scheduled €50 million renovation. The victory was championed notably by those players set to leave at the end of the season including Rhys Ruddock, who will be retiring.
Players who distinguished themselves throughout the match included man of the match Ross Molony, along with Ed Byrne, Charlie Ngatai and Michael Ala’alatoa. Leinster fans commended their performances with enthusiastic cheer.
Sam Prendergast expertly commanded the game, much credited to a strong pack where Thomas Clarkson and Jack Conan were particularly commendable. Connacht was left to dwell on a lacklustre start, with their strength of spirit in the second half not enough to overcome the formidable opposition.
The scoring kicked off following a few Leinster set pieces, an inside lineout for Connacht and a scrum resulted in Conan shrugging off weak tackles to notch up the first try. This was promptly followed by a conversion from Prendergast and Leinster didn’t look back.
Opting to turn down penalty kicks, Leinster secured another pair of penalties, with the second being the setup for a successful try by Jimmy O’Brien. Prendergast, who was again instrumental in this success, cleverly timed his assist to O’Brien.
Leinster’s command over set pieces led to a third try, beginning with a scrum penalty, followed by a strong lineout move propelling hooker Ronan Kelleher down the line. The ever-impactful Conan orchestrated the initial breakthrough, with Ciarán Frawley finishing with a successful score.
Prendergast’s conversion saw an uncomfortable 21-0 lead over the visitors. Connacht’s scrum was struggling under immense pressure.
Rhys Ruddock, set for retirement, notably had an unforgettable performance. His aggressive offensive and defensive contributions echoed that of his prime. Ed Byrne made substantial progress while Ross Molony decisively turned over an important penalty near Leinster’s line.
Jamie Osborne consistently troubled the Connacht squad, with his vision, adroitness and finesse in locating weaknesses in the opponent’s defence or creating opportunities for his team. His strong physical presence and quick decision making to offload might have brought more gains.
Further stellar performance came from Tommy O’Brien, who shone in the initial half, peaking defensively with an exquisite try-saving challenge on Cian Prendergast, which resulted in a forced knock-on. Despite some parts of the hosting team’s play falling short, like turnovers at lineouts, a lead of 21-0 at the interval left the spectators largely contented.
For Connacht, the predicament was significantly tougher – to discover an effective solution. Good attacking episodes came occasionally from them, mainly initiated by their standout centre David Hawkshaw, aided by Cathal Forde, Shane Jennings and the skilled Santiago Cordero. However, these manoeuvres didn’t audibly ring the points bell.
At the halftime stage, Conan was replaced by Max Deegan, Connacht also opted for changes with the introduction of substitutes Dennis Buckley and Jack Aungier to address the scrum issues. The second half kicked off in the same manner as the first, with Connacht barely holding on, slipping towards errors near their own line.
A pause came in the onslaught as Ruddock exited the pitch to rapturous applause, acknowledging his performance on the night and his service in the blue jersey. Charlie Ngatai substituted O’Brien, who had a commendable match.
Even though Leinster were remarkably poised to secure a bonus point try, they rather unexpectedly didn’t. They were halted over the line while Rob Russell failed to capture a pass at his line. The departing starting front row of Leinster were satisfied with their effort, particularly in the scrum.
Connacht exhibited a daring defence, especially with Cian Prendergast overturning a penalty almost at his line. However, Leinster’s lack of composure and strategic engineering of an ultimate breach would undoubtedly leave a sour taste.
The contest became quite choppy due to a series of disruptions and player changes. Michael Ala’alatoa, the replacement prop from Leinster, was handed a yellow card for a collision with Blade, while Harry Byrne took over Frawley’s position and Sam Prendergast shifted to the centre. This led up to an impressive fourth try by the hosts, performed by Dan Sheehan.
A counterattack from Connacht finally came, marked by intricate passing, culminating in a stylish score by replacement scrumhalf Colm Reilly. However, it seemed like the visiting team had more offensive vigor. Despite gaining scrum penalties and piercing the Leinster defence thanks to Hawkshaw’s cunning guidance, they failed to further raise their score.
As a showcase of a ruthless finish, the honour goes to Leinster’s Jimmy O’Brien, whose astounding 75-metre sprint dodging multiple defenders resulted in a remarkable solo try.
Here is the scoring chronology: at 8 minutes, Conan gets a try and Prendergast converts, making it 7-0; at 16 minutes, a try by J O’Brien and another conversion by Prendergast puts them at 14-0. This trend continues with a Frawley try at 22 minutes and another Prendergast conversion, putting the score at 21-0. At 62 and 73 minutes, Sheehan and O’Brien’s tries (respectively) along with conversions take the score to 26-0 and finally, 33-7.
The Leinster team roster included J O’Brien, T O’Brien, J Osborne, C Frawley, R Russell, S Prendergast, C Foley, E Byrne, R Kelleher, T Clarkson, B Deeney, R Molony, R Ruddock, S Penny (captain), and J Conan. The list of replacements included M Deegan, R Baird, C Ngatai, D Sheehan, M Milne, M Ala’alatoa, L McGrath, H Byrne and Deeny, who all joined the game at different intervals.
The match saw M Ala’alatoa from Connacht receiving a yellow card at 58 minutes. Connacht players were S Cordero, S Jennings, D Hawkshaw, C Forde, S Mallon, J Carty, C Blade, P Dooley, D Heffernan, F Bealham, J Joyce, N Murray, C Prendergast, C Oliver, and S Jansen. The game witnessed few substitutions such as C Reilly replaced Blade twice, once during 12-24 and again at 58 minutes owing to HIA. Post 24 minutes, S O’Brien took Jansen’s place.
At half-time, D Buckley was brought in for Dooley and J Aungier took over Bealham. After 43 minutes, due to HIA, B Ralston substituted Mallon. As the game clocked 50 minutes, both J Carty and J Joyce were replaced by T Daly and D Murray respectively. Lastly, at 58 minutes D Tierney-Martin took over Heffernan. The whole match was supervised by Referee C Busby from Ulster.