In round 5 of URC, Leinster outperformed Connacht with a score of 33 to 12. Despite knowing what was in store, Connacht couldn’t manage to lessen the blows from Leinster. This marks the third time in succession Leinster quickly established dominance. Although Connacht delayed giving up the supplement point till after the interval, their defensive efforts were futile against Leinster’s fifth win in five matches.
Leinster’s efficient tactics ultimately subdued an eager Connacht team and a full house of 6,117 spectators awaiting the tempest of Storm Ashley. For the initial 25 minutes, Leinster managed to confine Connacht to their half of the field. Yet, the home team displayed resilience and continued to apply their rugby strategies, particularly successfully attacking the narrow side of the field in the latter half of the match, ensuring continued momentum from their reserves.
In other circumstances, against most other teams, Connacht may have salvaged something from this encounter. Alas, they were left with little by Leinster. A flawed kicking game and a series of fundamental mistakes didn’t help their case either.
Leinster’s strategy of moving to the corner, utilising their powerful players, wearing down the opposition, and paving the way for scoring opportunities—sometimes even door-stepping ones—proves successful yet again. Furthermore, they seem to take a pride in maintaining their lead as much as they do in obtaining it.
The standout performer of this match was unquestionably RG Snyman, whose robustness on being tackled, extensive reach, and spectacular passing made a gargantuan impression. Evident by Leinster’s 17 to Connacht’s five offloads, Snyman, the esteemed dual World Cup champion, had a remarkable contribution to an ever-growing winning streak.
Max Deegan, James Culhane and Will Connors demonstrated the potency of Leinster’s backrow, receiving able support from a tireless Jamison Gibson-Park, while Garry Ringrose shone brightly. The Osborne siblings also had a good game, with both marking the scoreboard during the younger, Andrew Osborne’s third start, which was his second game with Jamie.
Leinster kicked off their scoring in the game’s sixth minute, as is their custom, with Jamie Osborne making the first impact. He tricked Snyman with a dummy, broke through, and seemed certain to score a try when he passed the ball to Gibson-Park. However, Santiago Cordero caught up and tackled him just in time.
The delay was short-lived as Denis Buckley was penalised for not rolling away. Leinster chose to send the ball to the corner, their typical move, and following a series of strong plays and a round of carries by their powerhouses, Gibson-Park enabled Jamie Osborne to outstep Shayne Bolton and score.
A penalty decision in Connacht’s 22 didn’t go Leinster’s way when Gus McCarthy was judged to have misdirected his throw. Leinster’s staunch ‘blue wall’ tactic prevented Connacht from making any headway, while Ben Murphy’s attempted box kicks were derailed by unfavourable winds.
The second try had an air of inevitability around it when Snyman used his long-limbed reach to fend off two tackles and offload one-handed to Ciarán Frawley. Hugo Keenan then put Liam Turner over in the corner following a recycle. Unfortunately for Frawley, he seemed to have suffered an ankle injury when tackled by David Hawkshaw who had momentarily trapped his leg.
Ross Byrne then stepped on to secure a stellar conversion with his first touch, and following another unsuccessful box kick by Murphy, James Ryan appeared to have scored a third try. However, he was slightly ahead of Culhane when the latter blocked Josh Ioane’s in-step chip inside his own 22. Connacht finally managed to regain some momentum, thanks to Paul Boyle’s significant contribution. A turning point of the match came when Keenan’s kick rolled dead in the 25th minute. Up until then, Leinster had dominated the game, claiming a staggering 95% of the territory.
Despite a haphazard start where their initial offensive lineout faltered and Ioane failed to secure his subsequent penalty up the line, a well-executed manoeuvre by the fly-half, succeeding an adept pass from Seán O’Brien, made amends. O’Brien facilitated a robust carry and due to Connors’ undesirable play on the deck, Connacht took the opportunity to play towards the corner. This sequence of play saw Boyle’s powerful manoeuvre from the maul, followed by Bundee Aki’s fierce carry. The ball was then gracefully transferred from Buckley to O’Brien, which ended in a potent conclusion.
A glimmer of hope for revival? Only momentarily. Despite his best efforts, Ioane’s conversion was carried astray by the wind, resulting in it striking the upright – a familiar and unwelcome occurrence in the region. Ironically, it was Snyman’s bungled attempted offload that lead to Leinster’s successive try.
Before the scrum could even start, Buckley was penalised for prematurely hinging, causing Leinster to sway towards the corner. A coordinated and forceful execution was seen from Ringrose and Deegan, followed by Gibson-Park inadvertently knocking the ball back towards Snyman, who effortlessly collected the ball and scored; a seamless and impressive motion.
A 21-5 interval lead was secured by Byrne’s successful conversion. Despite facing adverse weather conditions, Connacht found themselves under pressure from Gibson-Park. Hawkshaw made a vital tackle, and Connacht suffered Leinster’s heavy hits again, with Connors and Ryan at the forefront of the attack. Deegan adeptly secured Byrne’s low pass off the deck and scored the bonus point try.
Another over-the-top offload came from Snyman during a double tackle, which led to McCarthy linking with Gibson-Park. Deegan could have potentially scored another try, had it not been for Aki thwarting Andrew Osborne’s scoring attempt in the corner.
Connacht’s longest and most efficiently executed offense was cut short when Ringrose and Connors collectively pushed Boyle off the pitch, following his smart release by Caolin Blade. In addition to this, replacement players Andrew Porter and Thomas Clarkson halted Boyle’s try over the line.
Introducing Sean Jansen to the game infused a new energy for Connacht, similar to the effect Cathal Forde had on replacing an injured Hawkshaw. Aki coupled with Forde’s evasion of Jamie Osborne’s inside shoulder resulted in a successful try beneath the goalposts.
Andrew Osborne towered amidst a group of green-shirted defenders, catching the ball from Byrne’s soaring restart without any lifters to score the decisive try. Impressively, despite the opposing wind, Byrne managed to secure a conversion from the corner.
The scoring sequence is as follows: Osborne triumphed with a try and Frawley executed a conversion after 6 minutes (0-7). By the 16th minute, Turner had successfully tried, with Byrne executing another conversion (0-14). O’Brien managed a try on the 34th minute (5-14), with Snyman following up on the 39th minute with another try and a conversion from Byrne (5-21), and the half-time score was 5-21. Deegan achieved a try at the 46th minute (5-26), followed by Forde’s try and Ioane’s conversion at the 65th minute (12-26), and A Osborne’s try with Byrne’s conversion sealing the score at 12-33 on the 66th minute.
Connacht’s team was comprised of Piers O’Conor, Shayne Bolton, David Hawkshaw, Bundee Aki, Santiago Cordero, Josh Ioane, Ben Murphy, Denis Buckley, Dave Heffernan, Finlay Bealham, Joe Joyce, Darragh Murray, Cian Prendergast (captain), Seán O’Brien, and Paul Boyle. During the match, there were several substitutions; Dooley, Aungier, and N Murray swapped in for Buckley, Bealham, and Joyce, respectively, at 52 minutes; Tierney-Martin took over from Heffernan, Jansen for O’Brien, and Blade for B Murphy at 56 minutes; followed by Gavin replacing Cordero at 59 minutes, and Forde replacing Hawkshaw at 62 minutes.
The Leinster team featured Hugo Keenan, Liam Turner, Garry Ringrose, Jamie Osborne, Andrew Osborne, Ciarán Frawley, Jamison Gibson-Park, Jack Boyle, Gus McCarthy, Rabah Slimani, RG Snyman, James Ryan (captain), Max Deegan, Will Connors, and James Culhane. In the course of play, Frawley was replaced by Byrne at 17 minutes; Boyle and Slimani were swapped out for Porter and Clarkson at half-time; Penny replaced Connors at 59 minutes, with Deeny taking over from Snyman at 66 minutes, and Smyth and Gunne replacing McCarthy and Gibson-Park at 70 minutes, and finally Cooney for Turner at 73 minutes. The referee for the match was Eoghan Cross from IRFU.