Sports
Connacht left with nothing after controversial try
Connacht 0
Leinster 13
THE nil on the scoreboard is certainly a worry. Leinster will feel as though they made a bit of a statement on New Year’s Day. The men from the west had been making noise while their counterparts from Dublin had been shipping criticism, but this win in dreadful conditions at the RDS completed a brilliant Christmas period for Leo Cullen’s Leinster.
To tell the tale of this contest we need to dwell for a minute on the strength of this Leinster side as it will inform the real question on everyone’s mind. Have Connacht lost their way or are they still on track to make major progress by the end of this third campaign in the Pat Lam era?
The blues had a big win away to Munster leading into this contest and thanks to this 13-0 triumph leapfrogged Connacht in the standings with their ninth win in 11Pro 12 outings. Hardly a crisis in Leinster then, especially when you consider the young players on show here who are making huge progress such as Gary Ringrose, Josh Van Der Flier, Peter Dooley and Ross Moloney.
Those names are mixing in with a strong established core. Sure at international level major questions still have to be answered by the likes of Dave Kearney, Jordi Murphy and Martin Moore but in the Pro 12, these lads pack some punch.
The enforcers are there too, Mike McCarthy lorded it over his former team-mates in this one, frustrating, hassling, earning penalties and making a general nuisance of himself. Sean O’Brien burst off the bench and all but helped seal the win for good measure. Connacht lost away from home to a team that have more depth, more star talent and, perhaps, most worryingly more effective agitators.
Yet the nil on the scoreboard has to rankle most of all at the end of this. The fact that Connacht’s efforts over the 80 minutes, on balance, would have probably yielded a losing bonus point had we been treated to a more accurate and competent refereeing performance then we got from George Clancy here will rankle too, but will be forgotten come season’s end.
Clancy had a shocker in the second half after a solid first half display. Connacht’s advantage in the scrum yielded nothing but one penalty against and some odd ‘no calls’. Two key knock-ons were spotted and deemed incorrectly to have gone backwards while the hugely questionable Leinster try from Josh Van Der Flier drew national attention for how it was called by the experienced official.
None of that should negate the fact that Leinster were better here in the second half. They deserved their win based on their use of possession against the wind, numerous line breaks and effective offloads, support lines of running and disruptive work at the breakdown. Connacht lost all those battles and misfired in the lineouts for good measure.
Full match report in this week’s Connacht Tribune
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GALWAY United need to guard against any kind of complacency when they make the short hop down the M18 this Friday to take on Treaty United at the Markets Field (7.45pm).
The game is a meeting of the two form teams in the division, and as in previous meetings between the sides, will have an additional edge given the number of former United players in the home side’s ranks, and the pair of Limerick lads playing for United.
There might have been just the eight meetings between the sides since Treaty became the latest iteration to represent Limerick in the League of Ireland in 2021, and while United have yet to lose to the men in the candy-cane strips, there has never been more than a goal in four of their eight wins.
The most recent of those was back in February, when Rob Slevin scored the only goal of the game in Eamonn Deacy Park after a tough battle against a side who made a slow start to the season, before finally finding their groove in the past month.
Having taken just three points from their first six games before finally getting a win against Longford Town, they reverted to type with just one point from their next three games, but are now on a run of four wins on the spin, scoring 12 goals and conceding just one.
Their most recent win was a 3-0 victory away to Longford Town last Saturday, and they could have won by double that against the only side to have beaten United this season. That in itself is a warning.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Soccer Wrap with Mike Rafferty
While the Salthill Devon men’s team might have lost their grip on the Connacht Junior Cup that they held for two seasons, the club’s women’s side have picked up the mantle and on Sunday last in Headford were crowned provincial champions with a 4-3 win over Manulla.
Following midweek wins for Maree/Oranmore and Knocknacarra, the stage is now almost set for the semi-finals of the Michael Byrne Cup with Salthill Devon meeting St Bernard’s on Sunday in an outstanding quarter-final, with the winners advancing to a semi-final against Maree/Oranmore, while Colga will face Knocknacarra in the other last four contest.
Just one league issue remains to be decided, with the Championship runners-up position up for grabs, as Dynamo Blues have to win their two remaining games in order to overtake Colemanstown United who have finished their programme.
WOMEN’S CONNACHT CUP FINAL
Salthill Devon 4
Manulla 3
Ellerose O’Flaherty scored twice as Salthill Devon were crowned provincial champions with a win over a Mayo side who were losing in the final for the second year in succession.
Backboned by a number of players who previously had League of Ireland experience with Galway WFC, Devon suffered an early set back when Jess Nolan put Manulla ahead, before O’Flaherty levelled matters with a cracking finish on 20 minutes, which was quickly followed by a long-range free-kick from Aoife Walsh.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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