Sean Cronin admits coping with the Galway factor is difficult

Sean Cronin opted for a handful of Connacht’s memorable Challenge Cup wins when asked this week for the highlights of his three-year spell in Galway, but it was hard to avoid the feeling that loyalty diverted him from more localised highs.

A Leinster player since 2011, Cronin faced his current employers three times in front of a packed house at the Sportsground and finished on the winning side twice. So he knows more than most how the locals feel when their cousins from Dublin arrive down the M6.

“They seem to enjoy it,” he said with understatement, “enjoy when Leinster roll into town.”