Connacht scored an upset 35-24 win over champions Leinster during a dramatic weekend of Guinness PRO14 rugby to leave Ulster as the only unbeaten team after 10 rounds of the competition.
The clash at prime South African television time of 7.15 pm between Ulster and Munster at the Kingspan Stadium in Belfast was touted as the game to watch in the round but in terms of impact on the competition and on the race for conference honours it was what happened later in the evening that was the more seismic event.
Connacht did travel to Leinster with a reputation for being the team that has troubled them down the years, but few would have anticipated them to leave Dublin’s RDS Arena as winners. Indeed, Leinster had not lost to a fellow Irish province at home in more than six years (October 2014), they had not lost a PRO14 game since April 2019. They were on a winning sequence that had extended to 26 matches.
But not only did Connacht win, they won with something to spare, and never looked like losing against a Leinster team that just never got into the game and had to rely on a late converted try, which was of the consolation variety only, just to get them some degree of respectability on the scoreboard.
Leinster did lose kingpin and flyhalf Johnny Sexton during the game and they had debutants from the Leinster Academy both at wing and fullback but they still fielded a team that boasted massive experience, so it is hard to pinpoint any excuses for the vanquished team.
They were just hit hard from the kick-off and shocked into playing most of the first half on the back foot, as reflected by Connacht’s commanding 25-5 advantage at halftime. Flyhalf Jack Carty scored a brace of tries in the first 40 minutes and his 25 individual points in the game earned him the Man of the Match award. The two tries that Leinster scored in the second half weren’t enough to get them a bonus point, and they now trail Ulster by 10 log points in Conference A.
Ulster might kick themselves for not kicking on sufficiently from their 15-3 advantage at halftime over a Munster team that went into the game understrength. The anticipated showdown between South African born British and Irish Lion CJ Stander and Springbok Marcell Coetzee didn’t take place because Stander didn’t play, and Springbok World Cup winner Damian de Allende didn’t play either.
Munster fought back in the second half for an important bonus point but Ulster looked set to get a try-scoring bonus point of their own at the halfway mark of the game. Nonetheless, even though Leinster have two games in hand on them, Ulster will feel that their status as the only unbeaten team in the competition, something that both Leinster and Munster relinquished at the weekend, and conference leaders are something for them to feel pleased about.
Like Connacht later on Saturday night, Ulster also started like they had a train to catch. They just never allowed Munster into the game in the first half, scoring two tries in the first 16 minutes to take a handy lead they never relinquished despite the Munster's gritty second-half fightback that had Ulster defending desperately at times. It was Ulster’s second win in the festive week over an Irish province, following on from their win over Connacht.
For Munster the setback, plus Connacht’s win in Dublin, means their lead at the top of Conference B over Connacht has been cut to eight points. Both teams have played eight games.
It did not mean much to the race for top honours in either conference, but the 1872 Cup rivalry between the two Scottish teams, Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors, always has a lot riding on it and tends to produce tightly contested matches, and the latest instalment was no different. It took until the second half for any points to be recorded in a game dominated by the defensive systems, with South African born flyhalf Jaco van der Walt kicking a penalty before Edinburgh edged further ahead with a try.
Glasgow did come back with a try of their own but it wasn’t enough and it leaves them with just one away win in the competition since August. For Edinburgh, it was just their second win at Murrayfield since last February.
Weekend Guinness PRO14 results (home teams first)
Scarlets 20-03 Dragons
Cardiff Blues 03-17 Ospreys
Benetton 15-24 Zebre
Edinburgh 10-07 Glasgow Warriors
Ulster 15-10 Munster
Leinster 24-35 Connacht