Leinster measure up in battle of inches

LEINSTER scraped through as Connacht once again came up short at the Galway Sportsground last night.

The European champions did just enough to consolidate their lead of the RaboDirect Pro 12 after a pulsatingly hard-fought battle with Eric Elwood’s struggling Connacht. The visitors won on the scoreboard thanks to Isa Nacewa, in the goalkicking duel, but on all other fronts it was the home side which claimed the honours, including two second-half tries.

Behind by just two after missing an opportunity to draw level, they then carved a last-ditch chance to grab their first win since September. On this occasion it was their goal-kicking that let them down, and replacement out-half Miah Nikora’s drop goal attempt in the last minute was judged by the television match official to be just short. That brought to four the number of kicks missed, while the unflustered Nacewa nailed all five for Leinster’s 15-point haul.

“We are just happy to scramble out of here with a win, ” said Leinster’s Joe Schmidt, “but I would not be happy with the last 50 minutes. We were lucky and I would be the first to admit it.”

Leinster had gone into the break 9-3 ahead without needing to overstretch themselves, and seemed content, against the wind, to let Connacht do the work, and capitalise on their mistakes through Nacewa’s boot.

The home outfit once again dominated possession and territory, but they had little to show for their efforts. A super break from Tiernan O’Halloran on the counter-attack set up Connacht in the opening five minutes and, although halted inside the 22, Shane Jennings was pinged for a side entry at the ensuing ruck. Out-half Matthew Jarvis, a late replacement for Niall O’Connor, had an opening opportunity from the 22, but on this occasion his kick shaved the upright.

Jarvis was given a second chance minutes later when Leinster again infringed at the ruck. That effort was well wide, before the Welsh youngster finally nailed his kick when Leinster pulled down Connacht’s maul to open the scoring after 12 minutes.

However, the visitors had drawn level within a few minutes, with the Leinster full-back striking a 40m penalty kick superbly against the wind, and he followed up with a second after Connacht were penalised at the first scrum with a similar effort.

With Leinster’s line-out misfiring on a number of occasions, it provided Connacht with a platform to attack, but it was Leinster who finished the half with a 9-3 lead when Nacewa converted his third attempt, helped by a 10-metre bonus after Connacht players remonstrated with referee John Lacey.

With the wind at their backs, it looked likely Leinster would open up in the second half. But it was their tight forward driving that reaped rewards early after the restart when Nacewa potted his fourth penalty. However, the hardworking Connacht pack began to grab their own dividends, and they were given a boost when scrum-half Isaac Boss was sin-binned in the 55th minute.

That seemed to spur on the home side, who took over proceedings. A penalty to touch provided the platform and, when the ball was spun wide, left wing O’Halloran caught the defence with a dummy pass to slip inside for Connacht’s first try, reducing the deficit to 12-8.

Leinster, however, responded immediately and the pack once again took charge with a series of drives with Leo Cullen and Leo Auva’a prominent. The penalty eventually came, enabling the European champions to edge back to a 15-8 lead, and it seemed the game would play out to an inevitable conclusion. Connacht, however, wrested control in the final 20 minutes. While the backs continued to attack at every opportunity, it was the forwards who were eventually rewarded. Mike McCarthy and Johnny O’Connor were crucial players for the home side at the breakdown, but when Leo Cullen was also sin-binned after taking down Brett Wilkinson in the line-out, it provided the home side with a vital scoring platform which they took.

Led by McCarthy, the forwards rolled their way forward with replacement hooker Ethienne Reynecke getting the touchdown, bringing Connacht within two points and the chance to draw level, but Nikora’s 72nd minute conversion attempt sailed wide.

Leinster had the opportunity to kill off the game soon after but McCarthy scuppered a certain try, preventing Leinster from claiming the touchdown, and a couple of vital turnovers later, Connacht were again attacking the visitors’ line.

With a little more composure the home side could have gained few more yards which might have made a difference. In opting for the drop goal some 35 metres out, Nikora’s effort was judged short by television match official. It brought Connacht’s record to 12 losses on the trot, and a lucky 13 on the bounce for Leinster, stretching their lead at the top of the table.

CONNACHT: G Duffy (capt); B Tuohy, E Griffin, K Tonetti, T O’Halloran; M Jarvis, P O’Donohoe; B Wilkinson, A Flavin, R Loughney, G Naoupu, M McCarthy, M Kearney, J O’Connor, J Muldoon.

Replacements: F Murphy for O’Donohoe (45m), D Rogers for Loughney, Henry Fa’afili for Tuohy, E Reynecke for Flavin (all 55m).

LEINSTER: I Nacewa; D Kearney, E O’Malley, B Macken, A Conway; I Madigan, I Boss; J McGrath, R Strauss, J Hagan; L Cullen (capt), D Browne; R Ruddock, S Jennings, L Auva’a.

Replacements: N White for Hagan (55m), S Cronin for Strauss (58m), H Van Der Merwe for McGrath (63m), D Toner for Browne (70m).

Referee: J Lacey (IRFU).