{"id":18877,"date":"2021-01-02T18:28:24","date_gmt":"2021-01-02T22:28:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=18877"},"modified":"2021-01-03T10:29:45","modified_gmt":"2021-01-03T14:29:45","slug":"connacht-defeat-leinster-in-dublin-for-the-first-time-since-2002","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=18877","title":{"rendered":"Connacht Defeat Leinster In Dublin For The First Time Since 2002"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Guinness PRO14, RDS Main Arena, Co. Dublin 2\/1\/2021
Leinster vs Connacht
Connacht’s Jack Carty scores a try
Mandatory Credit \u00a9INPHO\/Dan Sheridan<\/figcaption><\/figure>Connacht defeated Leinster in Dublin for the first time since September 2002 as out-half Jack Carty masterminded a seismic 35-24 bonus point win over the Guinness PRO14 kingpins at the RDS.<\/p>\n

Itching for an Ireland recall, Carty scored 25 points to end Leinster’s proud 26-match PRO14 winning run. It was their first home defeat to a fellow Irish province in more than five years.<\/p>\n

The Guinness player-of-the-match touched down twice and kicked 10 points as Connacht, stung by last Sunday’s home defeat to Ulster, galloped into a 25-5 half-time lead.<\/p>\n

Alex Wootton’s late try had cancelled out Scott Penny’s lone score for much-changed Leinster, who had lost the returning Jonathan Sexton to a failed HIA.<\/p>\n

Captain for the night, Luke McGrath added a second Leinster try and Ryan Baird a third, but Tom Daly’s 72nd-minute intercept effort sealed the historic result before Ed Byrne bagged a last-minute bonus point for the hosts.<\/p>\n

The westerners’ promising start was rewarded in the eighth minute when Carty picked off Ross Molony’s high pass and raced clear to score from 55 meters out.<\/p>\n

Carty’s conversion was followed by a 12th-minute penalty miss, but the Athlone man was soon over for his second try. Having combined with Caolin Blade on a speedy break, he then bundled his way over with support from Quinn Roux.<\/p>\n

Now 12-0 down, Leinster steadied themselves despite Sexton’s untimely departure. McGrath exploited some space around the fringes and sent flanker Penny over for his sixth try of the campaign.<\/p>\n

The conversion was nudged wide by McGrath, though, and Carty strung together back-to-back penalties, the latter one rewarding John Porch for hunting down Jimmy O’Brien, who had shifted to number 10 in a makeshift Leinster back-line.<\/p>\n

Within reach of the interval, Connacht’s aggressive defense put them back into try-scoring range and winger Wootton was released for the left corner with Carty converting with aplomb.<\/p>\n

McGrath sniped straight through from a ruck, barely three minutes into the second period, and although O’Brien converted, Carty swiftly hit back with his third successful penalty for a 28-12 scoreline.<\/p>\n

One of Leinster’s big hitters on the bench, Sean Cronin broke menacingly off a maul to send Baird over for a 56th-minute unconverted try.<\/p>\n

A subsequent Leinster score, inspired by O’Brien and finished off by eager replacement David Hawkshaw, was disallowed for obstruction in the build-up by Andrew Smith.<\/p>\n

Daly, a real powerhouse in midfield for the victors, swooped on a Hawkshaw pass and fended off Smith to claim Connacht’s bonus point try, which Carty comfortably converted close to the posts.<\/p>\n

It sealed their first ever RDS victory, with Leinster’s only consolation being replacement Byrne’s close-range seven-pointer right at the death.<\/p>\n

Speaking in the aftermath, Connacht head coach Andy Friend said: “It is very pleasing. We were up here a couple of years ago, had a 17-point lead and that got swallowed up. It is very, very hard to win here but I thought our blokes were hungry from the start.<\/p>\n

“They threw everything at it and to get the win was great. To come up here and believe you can win takes a lot of positive mindset. I love the fact they had that belief, love the fact that from the first whistle they threw everything into it.<\/p>\n

“We said be decisive, trust your systems and trust the fact we deserve to be out here on that footie field and they did that. We had a lot of young blokes out there and they delivered.<\/p>\n

“It’s enormous. It’s enormous for Connacht and for everyone else to prove that they (Leinster) can be beaten.<\/p>\n

“For us it is a big win and we said at the front end of the game, that it was not just important to win from a Conference perspective but also to stop our sequence (of three straight losses).”<\/p>\n

Leinster boss Leo Cullen commented: “We made a lot of unforced errors. We were definitely better in the second half but credit to Connacht, they deserved their win.<\/p>\n

“We need to be better, our young players can learn a lot from that game in terms of understanding the step-up, particularly in these interprovincial games which are different to other PRO14 games. Ulster (next week) is a huge game for us.”<\/p>\n

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