Leinster 34; Connacht 23
Scorers: Leinster: Tries: Fintan Gunne, RG Snyman, Charlie Tector, Ciarán Frawley Cons: Harry Byrne (4) Pens: Harry Byrne (2)
Connacht: Tries: Dylan Tierney-Martin, Harry West Cons: Sam Gilbert (2) Pens: Sam Gilbert (3)
Leinster were never going to turn up and play a supporting role as Connacht celebrated at the grand opening of their new and improved Dexcom Stadium, on Saturday evening.
Connacht tried might and main to make it a memorable night on and off the pitch but in the end they just had to play second fiddle to the Eastern province who had that little bit more physique and nous.
Mind you, that only became apparent in the last quarter as they ran in a brace of late tries to claim a bonus victory point in this 11-point victory.
There is good news though if you are a Connacht follower because under former England manager and Leinster Asst Manager, Stuart Lancaster, they are improving in leaps and bounds and with the acquisition of players of the calibre of Ciaran Frawley - who ironically scored the final try to sink Western hopes - for next season, there is real hope that they can climb up the ladder.
Leinster are up there already and while they have lost almost as many finals as they have won in the Champions Cup, they are still one of the top three on a yearly basis.
After a poor start to this season, they have now put a run of 10 wins together and while still not firing on all cylinders, they are able to work out ways of winning on the hoof.
Connacht started well, went ahead, and then matched their more vaunted opponents stride for stride until the business end came and Leinster managed to find that little something extra which is often the difference between perennial winners and those who have to accept hard luck stories.
For example, the sides were level at 7-7, 10-10, 13-13 and 20-20 before tries for Charlie Tector and Frawley got Leinster over the line.
Unfortunately for the winners and more importantly in the immediate future for Ireland, they lost Jack Boyle to their already low loosehead prop injury list when he was forced off after 20 minutes in.
Diminutive scrum-half Fintan Gunne and big second rower RG Snyman scored the earlier Leinster tries, with the dynamic Dylan Tierney-Martin and Harry West dotting down for the home side.
Despite the inclement weather, the kickers, Leinster’s Harry Byrne and Connacht’s Sam Gilbert, had the rare stat of kicking all 11 kicks out of 11.
Leinster: C Frawley; J Kenny, G Ringrose, C Tector, J Lowe; H Byrne, F Gunne; J Boyle, G McCarthy, N Smyth; RG Snyman, J Ryan; A Soroka (for Mangan, 56-62 HIA), W Connors, C Doris (capt) Replacements: R Kelleher (for McCarthy, 49), J Cahir (for Boyle, 19), A Sparrow (for Smyth, 51), B Deeny (for Snyman, 71), D Mangan (for Soroka, 45), S Penny (for Connors, 49), L McGrath (for Gunne, 56), R Moloney (for Kenny, 78).
Connacht: S Gilbert; S Jennings, H West, C Forde, F Treacy; J Ioane, C Blade; B Bohan, D Tierney-Martin, S Illo; J Murphy, D Murray; C Prendergast (capt), P Boyle, S Jansen Replacements: E de Buitléar (for Tierney-Martin, 70), D Buckley (for Bohan, 49), J Aungier (for Illo, 8-18 HIA, and 49), J Joyce (for Murray, 61), S O’Brien (for Boyle, 61), B Murphy (for Blade, 72), J Carty (for Ioane, 63), B Aki (for Forde, 8-18 HIA, and for West, 49).
Ref: E Cross (IRFU).
Munster 22; Dragons 20
After losing out to French side Castres before the knockout stage of the Champions Cup the previous week, the last thing Head Coach Clayton McMillan wanted was another defeat when they faced Dragons in Cork at the weekend.
In the end he got what he wanted but only just as they beat the Welsh side by two points, 22-20, to stop their four-game losing streak.
Tries by Brian Gleeson and a pair from the effective Gavin Coombes with seven more from the boot of Tony Butler, saw the southern province climb up the BKT URC table.
Yet they trailed for most of this game in Cork as the Dragons came close to recording a first-ever win across 14 matches at the venue.
The change in Munster’s fortunes came when Coombes came off the bench after 55mins and within 10 minutes, the giant No 8 had crossed for two tries and changed the complexion of the game.
Afterwards the Head Coach declared: “Just relief actually, first and foremost to get the win, it was a hard-fought game, but really proud of the effort and the character in the side. We didn't get off to a great start, even pre-game with JJ Hanrahan pulling up five minutes before the start, so Tony Butler had to jump in there at pretty short notice.
“We didn't have any back-up cover there, so those little things can have a big impact on a young side. I'm really proud that they navigated their way through that.”
He went on: “I think we gifted some pretty soft tries, mostly from kicks that we just didn't get anyone near, they were good enough to capitalize, but we got it done. It's not pretty but four points in the bank and we go again next week.”
Scarlets 27; Ulster 22
Poor Ulster looked to have done the hard work but were caught by a late sucker punch which saw Scarlets claim the spoils in Llanelli on Saturday.
Winger Ellis Mee got in for a great try at the death to claim victory by five points.
