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Connacht break 18-year hoodoo with seismic win over Leinster

By PA
Former Leinster centre Tom Daly is flourishing at Connacht. (Photo By Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Connacht won in Dublin for the first time since September 2002 as fly-half Jack Carty masterminded a seismic 35-24 bonus-point win over Guinness PRO14 kingpins Leinster at the RDS Arena.

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Itching for an Ireland recall, Carty scored 25 points to end Leinster’s proud 26-match PRO14 winning run. It was their first home defeat to a fellow Irish province in more than five years.

The player of the match touched down twice and kicked 10 points as Connacht, stung by last Sunday’s home defeat to Ulster, galloped into a 25-5 half-time lead.

Alex Wootton’s late try had cancelled out Scott Penny’s lone score for a much-changed Leinster, who had lost the returning Jonathan Sexton to a failed head injury assessment.

Captain for the night, Luke McGrath added a second Leinster try and Ryan Baird grabbed a third, but Tom Daly’s 72nd-minute intercept effort sealed the historic result before Ed Byrne bagged a last-minute bonus point for the hosts.

The visitor’s promising start was rewarded in the eighth minute when Carty picked off Ross Molony’s high pass and raced clear to score from 55 metres out.

Carty’s conversion was followed by a 12th-minute penalty miss, but the Athlone man was soon over for his second try. Having combined with Caolin Blade on a speedy break, he then bundled his way over with support from Quinn Roux.

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Now 12-0 down, Leinster steadied themselves despite Sexton’s untimely departure. McGrath exploited some space around the fringes and sent flanker Scott Penny over for his sixth try of the campaign.

The conversion was nudged wide by McGrath, though, and Carty strung through back-to-back penalties, the latter one rewarding John Porch for hunting down Jimmy O’Brien, who had shifted to number 10 in a makeshift Leinster backline.

Within reach of the interval, Connacht’s aggressive defence put them back into try-scoring range and winger Wootton was released for the left corner with Carty converting with aplomb.

McGrath sniped straight through from a ruck, barely three minutes into the second period, and although O’Brien converted, Carty swiftly hit back with his third successful penalty for a 28-12 scoreline.

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One of Leinster’s big hitters on the bench, Sean Cronin broke menacingly off a maul to send Baird over for an unconverted 56th-minute try.

A subsequent Leinster score, inspired by O’Brien and finished off by replacement David Hawkshaw, was disallowed for obstruction by Andrew Smith.

Daly, a real powerhouse in midfield for the victors, swooped on a Hawkshaw pass and fended off Smith to claim Connacht’s bonus-point try, converted by Carty.

It sealed their first ever RDS victory, with Leinster’s only consolation being replacement Byrne’s close-range seven-pointer right at the death.

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Bull Shark 2 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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