Leinster return to top of URC, for now, with defeat of Connacht

Leinster's Dan Sheehan scores his teams fourth try despite the efforts of Connacht's Colm Reilly. Picture: ©INPHO/Ben Brady

United Rugby Championship: Leinster 33 Connacht 7

Leinster took their leave of the soon-to-be remodelled RDS with a Friday night bonus-point win that leaves them top of the URC pile. For now. Where they actually finish the regular season, and how their playoff route maps out, will be decided on Saturday afternoon.

Munster and the Bulls both started the last round of league fixtures sitting north of them. Both have potentially tricky ties, at home to Ulster and away to the Sharks respectively, but Leinster have declared their innings.

It may be that Leinster will end up in third, exactly where they started before kick-off, three defeats in their previous four league games having curbed hopes of a top-two spot and the potential home advantage benefits that come with that.

They were at least guaranteed a top-four finish regardless of the result here and, with that, a quarter-final in the Aviva Stadium. As it was, these five points left them a nose ahead of Glasgow Warriors who wrapped up with a hard-fought bonus-point win over Zebre.

Connacht, tenth in the standings beforehand, still had a mathematical chance of making the playoffs but nobody was fooled by that. This was always going to be their last run of a disappointing season and that showed in a sloppy first half-hour by the visitors.

They weren’t the only ones signing off.

Rhys Ruddock, Ross Molony, Ed Byrne, Charlie Ngatai and Michael Ala’alatoa were all playing their last games at this venue before moving on. Ruddock retires at the end of this campaign, the others are on to pastures new.

All of this drew a healthy audience of 17,225 to the old place six days after that crushing extra-time loss to Toulouse in the Champions Cup final and on a night when the Republic of Ireland women’s side was in action a few kicks of a ball away.

Leinster, showing 14 changes to the XV that started in London and with 15 internationals unused or unavailable, had some early issues with a botched lineout maul, a turnover concession and a wayward pass stymieing their initial attacks. That soon changed.

Jack Conan barrelled over for the first try nine minutes in. Then Jimmy O’Brien waltzed through for a second before the end of the first quarter with hardly a finger placed on him. Both were scored off first-phase moves. Not a good look for any defence.

The third was a clever, intricate maze of a thing with Conan thundering through the Connacht line and offloading brilliantly to Ciaran Frawley, but the hosts didn’t add to that 21-point haul before the break. Or for an age after it.

Ed Byrne had a try ruled out on 51 minutes by the TMO who saw no evidence of a grounding. Another attempt on the Connacht line ended when Michael Ala’alatoa earned a yellow card for a clumsy and high clearout that caught Caolin Blade in the face.

Dan Sheehan, one of two starters last week asked to spring from the bench, secured the bonus point that just about kept them ahead of Glasgow in the final reckoning. There were only 27 minutes to play at the time and Ala’alatoa was still in the bin.

A closer-run thing than expected.

Colm Reilly finished off a superb counter-attacking try for Connacht mere minutes later before Jimmy O’Brien cut through a splintering rearguard in the dying minutes to have the last say for the hosts who won’t play here again until the 2025/26 campaign.

All they can do now is watch and wait.

Leinster: J O’Brien; T O’Brien, J Osborne, C Frawley, R Russell; S Prendergast, C Foley; E Byrne, R Kelleher, T Clarkson; R Molony, B Deeny; R Ruddock, S Penny, J Conan.

Replacements: M Deegan for Conan (HT); R Baird for Ruddock and C Ngatai for T O’Brien (both 49); D Sheehan for Kelleher, M Milne for Byrne and M Ala’alatoa for Clarkson (all 52); L McGrath for Foley (56); T Clarkson for Deeny (60); H Byrne for Frawley (62).

Connacht: S Cordero; S Jennings, D Hawkshaw, C Forde, S Mallon; J Carty, C Blade; P Dooley, D Heffernan, F Bealham; J Joyce, N Murray, C Prendergast, C Oliver, S Jansen.

Replacements: C Reilly for Blade (13-26 and 59); S O’Brien for Jansen (25); J Aungier for Bealham and D Buckley for Dooley (both HT); B Ralston for Mallon (43); D Murray for Joyce and T Daly for Carty (both 51); D Tierney-Martin for Heffernan (60).

Referee: C Busby (Leinster).