Connacht 27
Leinster 13

By Rob Murphy - www.knockon.ie

A tumultuous night, a thundering display and another extraordinary result in this outrageous season.   The script has long since been burned to dust. No one quite knows where all this is leading but everyone wants to be a part of it.

The Leinster juggernaut arrived in Galway with all the trimmings talking a good game about being ready for a fierce challenge.

They had thrown their weight around in the boardrooms and forced the game to go ahead on their terms this week rather than Connacht’s request of two weeks hence. It backfired royally and who could feel sorry for them.

 Just three days on from the Munster disappointment, Connacht’s paper thin squad were patched up and sent out for action. Eight changes to the supposedly first choice xv but who knows anymore what Connacht’s best line up is, that’s a headache for the management and they won’t mind it one bit.

The game was characterized by a half an hour of tireless defence, a snatch try before the break and a rip-roarding and never to be forgotten start to the second half culminating in a try for the ages from Michael Swift. It was all underpinned by a moment of ingenuity from Troy Nathan and rounded off by one last inspirational bout of defending.

Exhausting stuff to recall never mind partake in. That Swift try is one for the long term memory bank. Every single person who was there will recall it time an again. As the finer details drift away in years to come, this game will become that night where Connacht thumped Leinster and Swift scored ‘that’ try.

More on that anon, the context and the lead up to that score are as important as the score itself. Connacht actually opened the contest on the attack despite Leinster’s subsequent dominance of the first half hour.

Try chances were evident, none more so than when Troy Nathan burst clear, beat his man but couldn’t find the advancing and wide open Brian Touhy on his shoulder. The signs were promising but a combination of Leinster’s disruptive ability in the lineout and a mixture of forced and unforced errors from Connacht meant the visitors soon took the initiative.

Even in the early stages of that period of dominance the signs were there that Conancht were playing the part of the immovable object. Young Galwegians, Ronan Loughney was to the fore, he had three penalties given against him on the bounce in his battle with 58 cap Souh African CJ Van De Linde.

The wily old Springbok was getting away with some antics but Loughney didn’t yield and by the fifth scrum he had an upper hand which he wouldn’t relinquish.

In essence, the period was all huff with no substance from Leinster, the home defence stood firm, every single player did their bit and as the clock ticked on, Connacht grew in confidence and gradually eased out of trouble. The first try came from Brian Touhy who had scored a crucial opener against Edinburgh also.

Conor O’Loughlin’s half break had lit up proceedings and after a couple more yard gaining phases, Fionn Carr broke and popped to the on rushing Brian Touhy to score under the posts. Connacht’s prolific winger is being marked diligently these days but is now becoming a try provider.

Leinster had some big guns in reserve and after what must have been a half time rollicking with the score at 7-0, they wheeled them out. Cian Healy and Jamie Heaslip first and then Leo Cullen. They all battled bravely, Heaslip put his heart and soul into it, but as it turned out the dam was creaking and reinforcements were futile. That must have been humbling.

Shaun Beirne kicked an early penalty after an opening salvo from his side but Connacht responded with a superb snap drop goal from Miah Nikora and all was well. Then came that try which started with a ferocious break from Gavin Duffy who countered a kick ripped passed the first two tackles before releasing Carr.

The quick tempo off loads from there were hair raising. John Muldoon was key, Sean Cronin’s thundering break helped and Mike McCarthy’s sharp hands played a part. A quick recycle, good work from Loughney and a visionary pass from Mike McComish out to Michael Swift who was lurking way out wide on the stand side.

When he caught it, he had a lot to do but that 25 metre, tackle beating run and pounding finish is what will be etched in the memory from here on. The response from Leinster yielded another three points but Connacht weren’t about to sit back and Nathan’s try came next after another break from the inspirational Duffy and great work from Carr and that man mountain George Naoupu.

Nathan’s try came from a sneaky move at the breakdown under the posts were Leinster went to sleep on the fringe and the centre picked the ball and waltzed over. The Johnny O’Connor sin bin and penalty try with ten minutes remaining were slight concerns but the defence otherwise suggested that there was no need to worry and an Ian Keatley penalty added some insurance.

Connacht saw this one home and Leinster hopped back on the bus with nothing to show for their trip down the M6. The mayhem continues on Sunday afternoon in Llanelli. Michael Bradley’s men are off the bottom of the table and level with Ulster with two rounds left, Heineken Cup rugby is peering over the horizon. Get on board folks, this continues to be one hell of a journey.

Connacht: G Duffy; B Tuohy, T Nathan, A Wynne, F Carr; M Nikora, C OLoughlin; R Loughney, S Cronin, R Morris, M Swift, M McCarthy, J Muldoon (capt), M McComish, G Naoupu.

Replacements: K Campbell for O’Loughlin 38 mins; A Flavin for Cronin, J OConnor for McComish, I Keatley for Nikora all 61 mins; B Upton for McCarthy 64 mins; A Browne for Swift 67 mins; Wilkinson for Loughney 70 mins.

Leinster: G Dempsey; A Conway, B ODriscoll, K Tonetti, Simon Keogh; S Berne, E Reddan; S Wright, R Strauss, CJ van der Linde, N Hines, M OKelly, K McLaughlin, S Jennings (capt), Stephen Keogh.

Replacements: C Healy for van der Linde, J Heaslip for McLaughlin, E O’Malley for Tonetti all half-time; I Madigan for Dempsey 48 mins; J Fogarty for Strauss, L Cullen for O’Kelly both 54 mins. Not used: P O’Donohoe.

Referee: P Fitzgibbon.

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