Leinster 33; Connacht 12
Leinster’s new season's resolution seems to be - “Get the work done quickly and then manage the game to the end.”
After blitzing Munster the previous work with three tries in the first 15 minutes and a bonus try added by the break, the went out in similar mind in Galway’s Dexcom Stadium at the weekend and completed a fifth bonus-point victory thanks to two quick tries in the opening 15 minutes which allowed them to dictate the rest of this BKT United Rugby Championship tie.
Both Leinster Head Coach and his Ireland counterpart Andy Farrell will have been unhappy to see Ciarán Frawley hobble off after only 10 minutes with an ankle injury that could threaten his availability for the opening Autumn international against the All Blacks at the Aviva Stadium.
This unfortunate incident in a build up after 10 minutes to his side’s second try was a case of one man’s woes being another’s opportunity as Ross Byrne got the chance to play virtually a full game and show what he can do as the outhalf.
Connacht, though, found the visiting pack their main trouble, with the giant South African s RG Snyman again dominating in the lineout and lose as well as getting in for Leinster’s third try just before the break to kill the game off as a contest.
That try followed touchdowns from thundering centre Jamie Osborne and winger Liam Turner while once again Sean O’Brien showed his colors by getting his side’s only score.
While Leinster struggled after the break against Munster, they came out on the front foot on this occasion with Max Deegan getting over for the bonus touchdown a mere five minutes after the resumption.
Cathal Forde’s try some 19 mins later was more of a consolation than a kickstart to up their challenge - a point underline when Andrew Osborne, younger sibling of Jamie, got his name on the scoresheet with the last touchdown of the evening.
Leinster scorers: Tries: J Osborne, L Turner, RG Snyman, M Deegan, A Osborne Cons: C Frawley (1), R Byrne (3) Connacht scorers: Tries: Sean O’Brien, Cathal Forde Cons: J Ioane (1).
Leinster: H Keenan; L Turner, G Ringrose, J Osborne, A Osborne; C Frawley, J Gibson-Park; J Boyle, G McCarthy, R Slimani; RG Snyman, J Ryan (capt); M Deegan, W Connors, J Culhane Replacements: S Smyth (for McCarthy, 70), An Porter (for Boyle, 43), T Clarkson (for Slimani, 43), B Deeny (for Snyman, 66), S Penny (for Connors, 58), F Gunne (for Gibson-Park, 70), R Byrne (for Frawley, 16), HCooney (for Turner, 73).
Connacht: P O'Conor; S Bolton, D Hawkshaw, B Aki, S Cordero; J Ioane, B Murphy; D Buckley, D Heffernan, F Bealham; J Joyce, D Murray; C Prendergast (capt), S O'Brien, P Boyle Replacements: D Tierney-Martin (for Heffernan, 55), P Dooley (for Buckley, 51), J Aungier (for Bealham, 51), N Murray (for Joyce, 51), S Jansen (for O'Brien, 55), C Blade (for Murphy, 55), C Forde (for Hawkshaw, 61), H Gavin (for Cordero, 58).
Ref: E Cross (IRFU).
Munster undone by
late mistakes in SA
Stormers 34; Munster 19
Munster are stumbling but learning to walk all the while event hough late mistakes made this look more of a cakewalk than it was for Stormers in South Africa on Saturday.
Once again as was evidenced in the Leinster match, they were all over the place in the line-out and punctuated their game plan with two man mistakes to succeed in their heroic efforts at a comeback in the second half.
That said, Head Coach Graham Rowntree can be happy that they are not that far away as was evidenced through the fine tries they scored from Tom Farrell, Eoghan Clarke and Gavin Coombes which brought them to within two points of their hosts well into the final straight.
Mistakes at restarts and passing saw the men in red shoot themselves in the foot just as it looked like they could wrestle a famous victory from John Dobson’s team who gratefully capitalized to end up winning by 15 points.
Afterwards Rowntress told RTE sport: “We just killed ourselves there. I thought we were in that game at half-time, came out in the second half and our discipline was poor. They score a good try there, then we have our opportunities to nail them with our lineout, we couldn't do it.
“We start giving away penalties in the scrum, then we’re chasing the game. We’re shelling penalties in the scrum, 11 penalties we conceded and they all counted. It’s a hugely frustrated and down dressing-room, for good reason. I thought we were in that and suddenly we weren’t,” he stressed.
Ulster on a bonus run
Ulster 36; Ospreys 12
Ulster are on a high after consecutive home bonus-point wins in the URC. A win by six tries to two is to be relished any day of the week and left the big Kingspan Stadium crowd happy on their way home after the game.
Hooker James McCormick opened the scoring with former Ireland winger Jacob Stockdale getting in at the corner for the second, both of which John Cooney failed to convert. A penalty try was just reward for great forward work after 23 minutes and flanker Marcus Rea chalked up the bonus point with a close in touchdown with Cooney adding the extras.
Ospreys got something out of the half at the end of the half when hooker Sam Parry barged over and Dan Edwards’ conversion cut the deficit to 24-7.
On the changeover hooker McCormick got his second dot down off the game 10 mins into the second half 50 minutes, but Keelan Giles kept the visitors faint hopes alive with an unconverted Ospreys try.
Ulster’s reply was immediate with Stockdale getting his second try, which Doak converted.
