Scorers: Connacht: Tries: O’Halloran, Adeolokun, Healy. Con: MacGinty. Pen: MacGinty.
Leinster: Try: Cronin. Con: Sexton. Pen: Sexton.
Referee: N Owens (Wales). Attendance: 34,550.
THEY were neither overawed by the big occasion nor overpowered by Leinster. Instead, Connacht did what they have done all season - play a gloriously self-confident and almost carefree brand of rugby to inherit the PRO12 title from Glasgow.
Playing in their first major final, Pat Lam’s team were the underdogs against opponents for whom winning European Cups and PRO12 titles has become almost second nature in recent years. But apart from a short spell at the start of both halves they took the game to Leinster, proving both more adventurous in attack and far more solid in defence.
Connacht captain John Muldoon, who has played for the province since the days when their very existence was in doubt, was named man of the match. But lock Ultan Dillane would have been an even worthier recipient, while Bundee Aki, as ever, was the creative heart of his team.
“You dream of being part of days like this,” said Muldoon, after a match played in front of a record attendance for the final. “We wanted to go out and play like we’ve been playing. We spoke all week about doing what we did all year - and I think we did that.”
For Pat Lam, who took over as head coach of Connacht three years ago, yesterday was the ultimate vindication of his positive approach to the game - but he does not see it as the end of the road. “It’s realistic for us to try and win it again,” he said.
It was Aki who got the ball rolling by providing the scoring pass for the opening try, feeding Tiernan O’Halloran in an attack down the left. Using Robbie Henshaw as a decoy outside him, the full-back took an inside line and scored without a Leinster hand really being laid on him. Aj MacGinty added the two points, and, after being under heavy pressure for much of the opening ten minutes, Connacht had a useful lead.
It was more useful still just inside the second quarter, when Niyi Adeolokun produced a sensational try. Aki and Kieran Marmion had both done well to keep the attack alive, then the winger, tight to the touchline, chipped over the top, sidefooted the ball on, then won the race to touch down. MacGinty was wide with the conversion attempt, but soon made it 15-0 with a penalty.
Faced with that deficit going into the second half, Leinster needed to open their account early if they were to have a hope of a comeback, and they did so four minutes in through a Sexton penalty. But Connacht hit back, and got their third try when a clever grubber kick by MacGinty was collected and touched down by Matt Healy.
MacGinty’s conversion attempt came back off the posts, but even with more than 20 minutes to play that looked like being the decisive score. The picture might have changed two minutes later when Leinster substitute Zane Kirchner thought he had scored in the left corner with his first touch of the ball, but Nigel Owens ruled the score out for a forward pass in the build-up.
Then, with quarter of an hour to play, and Connacht a man short as O’Halloran lay injured after taking a head knock in the tackle, Leinster did pull a try back through Sean Cronin. Sexton converted to make it 20-10 and rekindle a degree of optimism in his team. Another try in the following ten minutes would certainly have asked serious questions of Connacht, but their defence maintained its discipline to keep Leinster at bay.
“We’ve no complaints,” Leinster coach Leo Cullen said. “We weren’t good enough today. Huge amount of respect for Connacht and what they’ve achieved - they fully deserved the title.” It was a verdict that would surely be echoed by every other team in the competition.
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