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Leinster leave it late to beat rivals Connacht and go top of the URC

By PA
Leinster players celebrate after their side's victory in the United Rugby Championship match between Connacht and Leinster at The Sportsground in Galway. (Photo By Sam Barnes/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Ciaran Frawley’s last-gasp try saw Leinster snatch a 24-22 derby win from the jaws of defeat and end Connacht’s near year-long unbeaten run at the Sportsground.

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Newly-arrived senior coach Jacques Nienaber watched on as Leinster lost their grip on a 19-8 lead, despite the impact of an experienced bench.

Converted tries from captain Caolin Blade and Diarmuid Kilgallen had Connacht on the cusp of their first home victory over their provincial rivals in seven meetings.

But Leinster earned a bonus-point victory at the death through Frawley’s try and moved to the top of the United Rugby Championship table.

Short of back-line cover with a six-two bench split, full-back Tiernan O’Halloran’s early injury-enforced departure meant Connacht had to reshuffle – but they replied with a brilliant eighth-minute try.

The returning Mack Hansen combined with Byron Ralston before replacement David Hawkshaw was fed to finish off in the corner. JJ Hanrahan pulled the difficult conversion wide.

After losing three early lineouts, Leinster had a prolonged period of pressure off a five-metre scrum. Connacht held them out despite Cathal Forde’s sin-binning for making head contact with Charlie Ngatai.

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A Hanrahan penalty made it 8-0 in the 22nd minute, rewarding Connacht’s scrum, and a scrappy Leinster, with 14 personnel changes, continued to make handling errors.

But as the interval neared, a Connacht penalty was reversed for Shamus Hurley-Langton pulling Ryan Baird’s scrum cap. Ngatai barrelled over from a clever quick-tap move for Harry Byrne to convert.

Early in the second half, Leinster turned the tables on the Connacht lineout. Second row Jason Jenkins used the momentum swing to burrow over for a converted try after Connacht prop Peter Dooley was yellow carded for offside.

Attack

131
Passes
198
104
Ball Carries
158
216m
Post Contact Metres
220m
8
Line Breaks
3

Leinster were now on top, and although James Culhane was held up, Rob Russell nudged a Ngatai kick on and a favourable bounce allowed Ronan Kelleher to cross in the right corner.

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Just when Connacht looked to be struggling, replacement Paul Boyle and Forde unlocked the defence in midfield and Blade had the pace to finish from outside the Leinster 22.

Hanrahan converted and also added the extras to Kilgallen’s fifth score of the season, which saw Hansen break past halfway before unleashing his fellow winger for the line.

Both teams had set-piece issues in a nervy finish. A crooked Connacht lineout allowed Leo Cullen’s men to flood forward suddenly, and Frawley coolly stepped inside both Hansen and Forde to leave the home crowd stunned.

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J
JW 23 minutes ago
'France may leave top players at home but will still be serious contenders in New Zealand'

You can translate here https://translate.google.com/?sl=auto&tl=en&op=websites


Thanks for the link, but I can read it clearly and it says the… Top 14 features almost twice as many matches as Super Rugby Pacific, but is two and a half times longer.


This article appears to be the basis of; https://www.rugbypass.com/plus/the-stats-show-the-club-v-country-wounds-may-never-heal/ which is the one that I referred to which refutes your perception.


Were they both say..

If we take the dominant clubs in each major championship, we see that Stade Toulousain, author of the Top 14 – Champions Cup double, only has seven players above 1000 minutes, far from the average previously cited.


Furthermore, none of these players are full-time starters for the French national team: Toulouse are ahead of the competition at this level, and are far more effective than their domestic rivals in protecting their premium players.

The premium players being treated best is clearly apparent. Is you’re player management as good as New Zealands, of course not. NZ players will obviously be more fresh, but if we take the total of each at the end of their seasons, theres not going to be much difference as I’ve said, LNR are already treating their players much better.


I’m sorry, but as I alluded to, you are a fan rather than a researcher, your picture that you think has been painted is wrong. Your linked article says everything I did above.


So while that article paints the French in a well rested light, however it’s not actually including EPCR, which in respect to Toulouse, is where they’ve put their stars minutes into. So I think it’s time to do your own research! Pick and player and lets see, one of each camp? An important player you think has played a lot, and an example of a fresh young lad. Then were can look to their minutes as see how close or far they are to examples of players who are going to play in July.


Trust me, I have already done this research (but wouldn’t mind look at examples from this year to see if it’s still the case/same as previous years).

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