Connacht get reality check from fully focused Leinster

Leinster 47

Connacht 19

By Rob Murphy

THE top tier sides just don’t mess around when it comes to games like this. Connacht arrived in Dublin in good spirits with some real form to speak of, but Leinster were ready and waiting, and under enormous pressure to perform after the previous week’s loss to Ulster. There was only going to be one winner.

Yet by the half hour mark of this contest, Connacht were in front by five points and bringing a whole set of challenges to the men in blue that suggested they might be about to do something remarkable. It was a brief thought however, as by half time Leinster were in total control and just two minutes into the second half they had the bonus point and were kicking for home. How quickly it can all fall apart.

Leinster are box office, top tier, elite level – label it what you will, they belong to a small group of Champions Cup sides that are just operating at another level than the rest. Toulouse, Exeter, La Rochelle, Racing 92, Leicester and at a stretch Munster are all there. There’s a handful of others. When you play them, it depends on their focus, if they’re at full strength and clued in, well it feels like a brick wall.

Everything Connacht are trying to achieve in year four under Andy Friend in terms of the newer high tempo adventurous style of play is about becoming more consistent against sides below that top level and more resilient when they come up against the elite outfits. Yet there are times in rugby when the opposition’s sheer size and collective power makes for an immovable object.

Leinster scored seven tries in total by full time to Connacht’s three, they had some world class performers in key positions that created too much chaos for the visitors. Players and coaches in all sports these days love to talk about how they focus on their own game and not the opposition, but when Josh Van De Flier is on the field and in form at openside flanker, you can focus on your own game until your heart’s content, but it isn’t going to impact his.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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