The capricious nature of sport. Leinster lost Harry Byrne to a “niggle,” withdrawn before the team left their base for the Aviva Stadium on match day, while tight head prop Rabah Slimani tweaked a calf in the warm-up. Two players down before a ball was kicked in earnest.
The upshot was that Andrew Porter was pulled from the starting team to cover tight head, Jack Boyle promoted to the run-on side at loose head with Jerry Cahir and Andrew Osborne added to the replacements, the latter to replace Byrne. Boyle (arm/shoulder) picked up an injury during the game.
Leinster led 14-0 after seven minutes, trailed 17-14 after 38 minutes with Joe McCarthy in the sin bin and then hit back to lead 19-17 at the interval. The home side conceded 13 penalties and two free kicks in the opening 40-minutes, falling foul of referee Andrew Brace, who in keeping with the injury theme of the day, didn’t reappear for the second half, replaced by Keane Davison.
The breakdown and scrums had been a mess in the first half, the most consistent feature the shrill blast of a whistle. Leinster won the second half 33-0, a monumental turnaround in fortune, and one that can be ascribed to improved discipline but also sharper and more accurate work at rucks, thereby guaranteeing quick ruck ball, a fuel source that enabled a young backline to thrive.
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Leinster captain Dan Sheehan acknowledged: “Yeah, we probably were just getting a bit isolated as ball carriers and our urgency to the breakdown and our clear-outs just weren’t good enough. It was something to address among other things. There’s always going to be some messages at halftime, and I thought the lads picked it up pretty well. There was no sense of panic, which is the main thing sometimes.
“People can get flustered, but I thought the calmness among the group to just get on with things and solve problems all day, obviously with different changes going on, we just got on with it, with no excuses. And yeah, I thought the lads adapted well throughout the game.
“Something I wanted to sort of address during the week was ‘let’s see if we can play to spaces.’ We’ve seen pictures where we might have kicked the ball and there is space to play, and it’s not the wrong option, but can we give it a shot by playing, keep the ball, and then keep the pressure on?
“It was really nice and enjoyable to play that sort of game where obviously sometimes you’re gonna have to kick it, but if we saw the space, I thought we took it well and finished off, putting them under pressure while retaining the ball.”
[ Leinster punish deflated Connacht with eight-try Aviva demolitionOpens in new window ]
Leinster head coach Leo Cullen namechecked several of the young players when asked directly about their contribution. “Ah it’s great. JJ (Kenny) on the left wing, he’s been fantastic, six tries in four starts. Charlie Tector (got) a couple of tries as well, Hugh Cooney, in the centre was good.
“Sam (Prendergast) is obviously younger than most of them, but obviously because he’s experienced and maybe doesn’t fall into that category. Conor O’Tighearnaigh, (it was) his first appearance this season (and) Will Connors back in the mix (as) he broke his arm here against Zebre. Diarmuid Mangan is another younger player that’s coming through all the time, playing at six there.
“I thought we got a really good grip of the game in the second half, which is pleasing, five unanswered tries. The bench guys added in different ways, and it was great to see guys finishing off some opportunities that were created; not every opportunity, but we scored some really good team tries, which was pleasing.
“It’s a win, five points, three wins during the interpros with lots of chopping and changing of teams, which is never easy. We’re trying to build cohesion on a week-to-week basis.”
Connacht also had their injury issues, losing scrumhalf Matthew Devine to a head injury early on and having several other players invalided out of the contest. Going down 14-0 early on was a gut check to which they responded superbly but the wear and tear in the second half had a very debilitating effect.
Head coach Stuart Lancaster reflected: “I thought we had a slow start to be honest, obviously two tries wasn’t the ideal plan but after that 10-minute period I thought we settled into the game well. We kept possession well, stuck to the game plan, executed it well and we went from 14-0 to 17-14. The sucker punch was the try before halftime.
“One thing we’ve talked a lot about recently is those minutes pre and post half time and clearly, we’ve still got work to do in that area. As soon as you fall behind against Leinster who are obviously a very good team, then you start to chase the game and your game starts to unravel, you just give them more and more opportunities to attack against you.
“No matter how well you defend on occasions, you can’t give them offloads, knock-ons, set-piece ball which allows them to build pressure and ultimately points; very disappointed in the second half. We’re still developing our young players, like Billy Bohan, Fiachna Barrett and Harry West. I’m throwing them in the deep end.
“So, (it’s) disappointing, but I know the lads well and I know we’ll use the Europe window well, which we need to, because the next game is Leinster at the Dexcom Stadium when it opens (Later this month).”
[ Matt Williams: Remember to get your best wins in before full-timeOpens in new window ]
