Munster 30; Connacht 24
This was a day when rugby went to meet the masses outside of its usual stomping ground and the result was a packed McHale Park with 27,870 getting everything except the result they hankered for at the end of the game.
The fairytale finish looked on three minutes from time when Connacht showed great resolve to roar back from 18 points down earlier in the game as Dylan Tierney-Martin got over for what appeared to be the match-winning try.
Munster players celebrate after Diarmuid Barron scores a try against Connacht in Castlebar. [Inpho/Billy Stickland]
However referee Craig Evans spotted a croc-roll by Ireland star Bundee Aki in the build-up to that score and disallowed it much to the chagrin of the big home following.
While Munster were deserved winners on the balance of play over the 80 minutes, a Connacht win would have made this a perfect day for the Cinderella province.
Munster: B O'Connor; C Nash, T Farrell, A Nankivell, S O’Brien; J Crowley, C Casey; J Loughman, D Barron, O Jager; F Wycherley, T Beirne (capt); T Ahern, J Hodnett, G Coombes Replacements: NScannell (for Barron, 60), J Wycherley (for Loughman, 60), S Archer (for Jager, 56), J Kleyn (for Wycherley, 56), R Quinn (for Kendellen, 67), C Murray (for Casey, 67), R Scannell, A Kendellen (for Hodnett, 22).
Connacht: M Hansen; C Mullins, H Gavin, B Aki, F Treacy; J Ioane, C Blade; J Duggan, D Heffernan, F Bealham; J Joyce, D Murray; C Prendergast (capt), S Hurley-Langton, S Jansen Replacements: D Tierney-Martin (for Heffernan, 59), D Buckley (for Duggan, 57), J Aungier (for Bealham, 57), J Murphy (for Prendergast, 25), P Boyle (for Joyce, 57), M Devine (for Blade, 53), JJ Hanrahan (for Cordero, 53), S Cordero (for Mullins, 5).
Munster: Tries: Tom Ahern, Craig Casey, Jack Crowley, Diarmuid Barron Cons: Jack Crowley (2) Pens: Jack Crowley (2)
Connacht: Tries: Sean Jansen (2), Caolin Blade, Josh Ioane Cons: Josh Ioane (1) JJ Hanrahan (1)
Leinster hang tough vs. Sharks
Leinster 10; Sharks 7
This understrength and youthful Leinster team had to stand up or shut up against the Sharks in Durban following their dramatic last-minute loss to the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld the previous week.
And in fairness to Leo Cullen’s young squad devoid of current Ireland players, they showed their mettle to come out tops in a tough 10-7 battle of attrition with their wily old hosts.
In many ways, the victory set up next week’s sell-out at Croke Park against England side Harlequins as the eastern province got back on the winning track.
Although the travelling panel was shorn of many big names, Cullen freshened things up by making eight changes for this game.
An early yellow card to Jaden Hendrikse saw the visitors take immediate advantage when Henry McErlean went over in the 18th minute but Ciaran Frawley failed to add the conversion.
On a day when scoring was at a premium, replacement back-rower Scott Penny showed his worth by grabbing what proved to be the winning score when he dotted down early in the second half without the added points coming as Frawley’s kick rebounded off the woodwork.
Sharks had been in great form lately and wanted a win to cement a home quarter final. They got over through Springboks hooker Bongi Mbonambi for their only try, which Jordan Hendrikse converted.
As far as the scoring went, that was it. The intriguing thing was to see if Leinster could hold out as the Sharks came looking for some sort of score that would either draw or win the game. To their eternal credit, Leinster allowed neither and came home with a pep in their step.
8-try Ireland showing rapid progress
Ireland 54; Italy 12
After the disappointment of the French defeat in which they had played well without scoring sufficiently, Ireland showed their true scoring form when running in eight tries against a hapless Italian outfit in the Guinness Women's Six Nations in Parma on Saturday.
It means that Scott Bemand’s side jumped up to third in the championship rankings thanks to the proliferation of touchdowns, which included Anna McGann hat-trick, and a magnificent display in the centre from player of the match, Offaly’s Aoife Dalton.
The Clara woman got over for the first Irish try inside two minutes, but it was her performance all through when a constant threat with her nine carries and 15 tackles that made her the standout player for MVP.
Dalton and McGann gave the girls in green a 14-0 inside seven minutes, and while the hosts replied with a try from Sofia Stefan, a second McGann try and another for Amee-Leigh Costigan meant Ireland had bagged the bonus before the break.
Second half tries from Linda Djougang, Dorothy Wall and Brittany Hogan had Ireland easing up before McGann got her hat-trick to round off the tryfest.
It was a great day too for kicker Dannah O’Brien, who was successful with seven conversions out of eight to wipe away a poor day on the tee in Belfast against the French.
Aoife Dalton with her player of the match award. [Inpho/Tom Maher]
The 54 points scored is our highest tally in a decade. However, everyone knows that we will be able to judge this squad much better when we see how they stand up to the huge test England will pose in Cork on Saturday week April 12.
Ireland: S Flood; A McGann, A Dalton, E Higgins, A-L Costigan; D O'Brien, A Reilly; N O'Dowd, NJones, L Djougang; R Campbell, F Tuite; E McMahon (capt), E King, A Wafer Replacements: C Moloney (for Jones, 61), S McCarthy (for O’Dowd, 57), C Haney (for McMahon, 58-68, and for Djougang, 68), G Moore (for Campbell, 58), D Wall (for Tuite, 50), B Hogan (for Wafer, 50), E Lane (for Reilly, 57), E Breen.
Scorers - Ireland: Tries: Anna McGann (3), Aoife Dalton, Amee-Leigh Costigan, Linda Djougang, Dorothy Wall, Brittany Hogan Cons: Dannah O'Brien (7). Italy: Tries: Sofia Stafan, Beatrice Rigoni Cons: Beatrice Rigoni.
