Connacht get a spanking at stunned Sportsground

Connacht 11

Leinster 42

By the time Jack Carty decided to place a restart deep into the Leinster 22 rather than go short to contest, the game was done. the margin was 35-6 and Connacht were heading towards unwanted records. Five tries had been leaked at that stage, a storm had enveloped the men in green and their inability to scramble and think on their feet under pressure had been brutally exposed.

Leinster’s power and precision rose to the fore off the back of complete and total dominance in the tight five, from their electric front row forwards, to their world class second row, they were in total control and,perhaps, as a result their young back row edged out Connacht’s stellar line up from the get go and never relented. The backline were good too, but that’s hardly surprising considering they found themselves going forward off every set piece.

Phrases like ‘wake up call’ and ‘reality check[ would have been uttered around the Sportsground as the Friday night non-contest played out and while that’s understandable, this really shouldn’t be viewed as an alarming result for the short term, it should instead be looked upon as a line in the sand moment for the long term direction Connacht take.

This was an evening where the gulf in class between the two sides was at its widest in decades. It’s at this stage because of the young talent that Leinster are bringing through in conjunction with some big signings that anchor everything in place. Joe Tomane might not be an elite international but at PRO14 level he is an invaluable foil for the young emerging stars such as Hugo Keenan, Jimmy O’Brien and Conor Frawley.

In the pack, a player like Scott Fardy is leading and inspiring in the way Rocky Elsom did ten years ago and his play here alongside the ever dedicated and determined Deven Toner made it easy for the young back row of Josh Murphy, Will Connors and Max Deegan to outshine, overrun and out muscle Jared Butler, Eoghan Masterson and Paul Boyle from almost the first minute.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.

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