Connacht talisman Muldoon retires as new star rises in the west

Connacht 47 Leinster 10: On a day when Connacht bade farewell to their talisman from Portumna, along comes another farmer’s son from a few miles away on the other side of the River Shannon to lay down a marker and offer hope for the future with hooker Shane Delahunt producing a remarkable display on a day of celebration in Galway.

Delahunt may have grown up in a different county and province to John Muldoon but their family farm at Riverstown outside Birr is only a few miles from Portumna.

Delahunt has only made 14 starts for Connacht — with another 29 off the bench — but he produced the sort of swash-buckling display on Saturday which suggests he is poised for a big breakthrough which could be taken to a new level if Joe Schmidt is willing to take a punt on the tyro.