RUGBY/Leinster 16 Connacht 13: Neither team will have emerged from this Sunday evening set-to gleaming with satisfaction.
Leinster ground out the win to stay in the Celtic league mix, a point behind Munster and two off leaders Ulster, but with a performance a long way short of what will be required for their next big assignment in Toulouse, while Connacht will simply view it as an opportunity missed.
Leinster will have a St Patrick's Day friendly at home to Padova, but nothing else for their absentee Irish quartet before that Heineken European Cup quarter-final. With that game in mind, not too much light will have been shed by this game.
Most worryingly, Leinster's lineout imploded, and even their scrum buckled near the end, though Gissing at least provided an injection of go-forward ball with his trademark rumbles. But arguably the best secondrow on view was David Gannon, while the general intensity of the Connacht pack was excellent.
However, they were hit by injuries before and during the game, and not until Matt Mostyn started hitting the line did they look like breaking through.
For their part, though Jonny Hepworth and Kieran Lewis ran well at times, Leinster's backs also struggled, and Felipe Contepomi lost his footing and at times even his radar by running crossfield. Ultimately, though, he did emerge as match-winner.
Played on a grassless field in front of a 3,573 crowd, this was a stop-start game, and like many of the players, referee Olan Trevor cannot look back on it with too much satisfaction.
That said, some of Leinster's discipline was poor. The penalty count was 8-2 at one point, while Eric Miller and Contepomi might have been sinbinned.
Warwick opened the scoring in the 12th minute, before Lewis's eye for a gap turned counterattack into a clear try-scoring opportunity, but his skip pass for Robert Kearney was too high.
The force stayed with Connacht, in large part thanks to their superior lineout - Gannon made three first-half steals - and the Connacht backs probed promisingly before injuries to both centres compounded the absence of winger Colm McPhillips. Mark McHugh and Darren Yapp formed a new midfield partnership in the ensuing reshuffle.
It took Leinster 33 minutes to start building with tempo through the phases, but a certain three-pointer was reversed under the Connacht posts when Adrian Clarke killed ruck ball after Miller had done a tap dance on the prop's back.
Either side of the interval, when Leinster went to the corner, Brian Blaney's throws were picked off by Gannon and Andrew Farley, before Contepomi penalties drew the sides level.
Leinster appeared set for the lead nearing the hour mark after Hepworth took a good straight line off Contepomi. But for the second time in the match a penalty for spoiling was overturned, and this time Reggie Corrigan was binned for taking exception, with a punch, to Farley holding on to his jersey.
Leinster needed something out of the ordinary to break the deadlock. Cue Contepomi. He opted for a delicate chip inside his 22 over the advancing Connacht backline, which Hepworth latched on to with a kick upfield. Hickie was first to it, and Lewis intelligently released Dempsey up the touchline for a sequence of close-in drives by the forwards.
When slow ball was recycled, Contepomi sidestepped, slipped, and wriggled his way over.
When Corrigan returned, John Fogarty had the misfortune to let a Dempsey punt bounce off his chest for a throw-in, leading to Contepomi extending the lead to 16-6 with a penalty.
Connacht finally outflanked Leinster for Matt Mostyn to hit the line, bouncing off Lewis and taking the tackles of Kearney and Dempsey. When the recycle came off Andrew Mailei's foot, the replacement pounced for the score, Warwick converting.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 12 mins: Warwick pen 0-3; 24: Warwick pen 0-6; 40(+3): Contepomi pen 3-6 (half-time 3-6); 52: Contepomi pen 6-6; 64: Contepomi try and con 13-6; 73: Contepomi pen 16-6; 77: Mailei try, Warwick con 16-13.
LEINSTER: G Dempsey; R Kearney, K Lewis, J Hepworth, D Hickie; F Contepomi (capt), G Easterby; R Corrigan, B Blaney, W Green; C Jowitt, B Williams; E Miller, K Gleeson, J Heaslip. Replacements: B Gissing for Miller (half-time), E Byrne for Jowitt (59-69 mins). Sinbinned: Corrigan (59 mins).
CONNACHT: M McHugh; D Yapp, J Hearty, K Matthews, M Mostyn; P Warwick, C Keane; R Hogan, J Fogarty, A Clarke; D Gannon, A Farley; J Muldoon, B O'Connor, C Rigney. Replacements: D Slemen for Matthews (9 mins), A Mailei for Hearty (39 mins), M Lacey for O'Connor (48 mins), T Tierney for Keane (68 mins).
Referee: O Trevor (IRFU).
