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U-19 Interprovincial Series
Connacht U-19 21
(Eoin Naughton, Joseph Smyth, Billy Ruane tries; Calum Elwood two pens)
Leinster U-19 36
(Charlie Hempenstall, Ben Blaney (two), Duinn Maguire, Luke Fogarty, Ross Doyle tries; Darragh O’Dwyer three cons)
Kevin Egan at Creggs RFC
Three mauled tries in the second half, allied to complete dominance at scrum and lineout time, were the key ingredients to Leinster picking up a second win of the 2024 U-19 interprovincial series at Creggs RFC this afternoon.
Connacht, who succumbed to a heartbreaking one-point defeat to Ulster at Kingspan Stadium in the first round of games, were again hugely competitive here and weren’t out of the hunt with a 6-5 interval lead, but as the second half was to prove, they needed to make more of the wind advantage that they enjoyed in that opening period, instead of just sneaking in front of the back of two well-taken Calum Elwood penalties.
When Leinster were able to gain territory much easier through their kicking game, it enabled them to really exploit their lineout supremacy, where Conor Hanly was a huge nuisance on the Connacht throw throughout the afternoon.
There was potency in the Leinster back division too, and nowhere was this more in evidence than midway through the first half, when a seemingly innocuous scrum at midfield saw the ball whipped back towards Charlie McConnell, with Connacht tacklers ready to pounce. McConnell’s footwork was exceptional as he weaved his way out of trouble, got his offload away to Luke Fogarty, and equally impressive running from the scrum half was enough to open up the space for Charlie Hempenstall to sprint through and apply the finish.
Connacht will have been bitterly disappointed not to have led the game at that stage, having twice had possession within five metres of the Leinster line, without any tangible reward. With torrential rain beating into the faces of the Leinster players, typically western conditions seemed to open the door for Connacht to put real pressure on their visitors. Jack Pollard and Leo Anic made some strong carries and an all-in maul that stemmed from Anic claiming a lineout looked like it might get the green mass of bodies across the paint, but Leinster did enough to repel that, and the next five phases too.
Two Elwood penalties nudged Connacht in front, but they needed much more of a cushion by half-time, and in treacherous conditions, there always seemed to be a knock on or a handling error at the wrong time, just when the Leinster defence was stretched.
Once the game restarted, the blues wasted no time in reclaiming the lead. By now they knew that their advantage was in the tight exchanges and they weren’t shy about using their power. Ben Blaney touched down in the midst of a crowd of bodies with the first attack of the second half, and within five minutes, there was real daylight between the teams after Blaney collected a lineout in the corner, and Duinn Maguire was the player who put his name on the score. Darragh O’Dywer’s decision to kick for the corner rather than tap over what would have been a quite simple penalty for the Gonzaga player was a clear indication of how Leinster knew where they could hurt their opponents.
A wonderful piece of interplay between Elwood and Joseph Smyth still needed an electric finish from Smyth to drag Connacht back into the game ten minutes into the second half, but Leinster kept turning the screw in the closing stages, forcing Connacht to work with slower, back-foot ball and twisting the knife with their own ability to either batter down the doors, or else pick the lock with some clever chip kicks.
Dan Ryan’s sidestep and pace opened up the next try for Luke Fogarty, a clever chip from O’Dwyer almost put McConnell in. but Hempenstall’s attempt at an offload was a risk too far, and there were 20 points between the teams briefly, after Blaney again came up smiling at the bottom of a Leinster maul that drove across the Connacht line.
With both sides pouring their hearts, bodies and souls into the closing stages, Billy Ruane touched down in the middle of a 12 man maul for Connacht and he also capitalized on an explosive burst from Smyth and Thomas Cotton, but there was also time for Leinster sub Ross Doyle to score with his first touch, Hempenstall doing the hard work with a chip, collect and run to leave a simple finish for his colleague.
CONNACHT U-19: Paul Sharkey (Galwegians RFC/St. Joseph's Patrician College); Ronan O'Connor (Sligo RFC/Summerhill College), Thomas Cotton (Buccaneers RFC/Marist College), Joseph Smyth (Ballinasloe RFC/Garbally College), Dylan Bruton (Buccaneers RFC/CBS Roscommon); Calum Elwood (Galwegians RFC/Coláiste Iognáid), Charlie O'Carroll (Buccaneers RFC/Marist College); Rory Lyons (Westport RFC/Sancta Maria College), Jack Pollard (Corinthians RFC/Blackrock College), Jason Duggan (Ballina RFC/St. Muredach's College); Michael Smyth (Claremorris RFC/St. Louis Community School), Leo Anic (Creggs RFC/CBS Roscommon); Pasha Thiam (Corinthians RFC/Coláiste Éinde), Charlie Keane (Corinthians RFC/Coláiste Bhaile Chláir), Oisin McNicholas (Ballina RFC/St. Louis Community School).
Replacements: Eoin Naughton (Buccaneers RFC/Cistercian College Roscrea) for Pollard (41 mins); Brian Donohoe (Ballina RFC/St. Muredach's College) for Duggan (36 mins); Matthew McNamara (Galwegians RFC/Coláiste Éinde) for Smyth (36 mins), Tom Sheehan (Buccaneers RFC/Marist College) for Bruton (46 mins); Michael Donnelly (Castlebar RFC/St. Gerald's College) for Lyons (51 mins); Billy Ruane (Ballina RFC/St. Muredach's College) for O’Carroll (53 mins), Donagh Kilcommins (Corinthians RFC/Coláiste Bhaile Chláir) for McNicholas (55 mins); Mark Tempany (Sligo RFC/Sligo Grammar) for Elwood (57 mins).
LEINSTER U-19: Charlie Hempenstall (Wesley College); Dan Ryan (St Michael’s College), Ethan Black (St Michael’s College), Charlie McConnell (St. Michael’s College), Jack Halpin (St Mary’s College); Darragh O’Dwyer (Gonzaga College), Luke Fogarty (King’s Hospital School); Adam Cooper (Terenure College), Duinn Maguire (St Michael’s College), Luke Murtagh (Clongowes Wood College); Joe Elliot (St Michael’s College), Sean Walsh (North Kildare RFC); Conor Hanly (Newbridge College), Ben Blaney (Terenure College), Lochlann Wardick (Terenure College).
Replacements: Derry Moloney (Blackrock College) for Halpin (46 mins); John King (Athy RFC) for Cooper (53 mins); Conan Gartland (MU Barnhall RFC) for Murtagh (53 mins); Albert Lindner (Blackrock College) for Fogarty (57 mins); Cillian Jacobs (St Mary’s College) for Maguire (61 mins), Ross Doyle (Clongowes Wood College) for Black (66 mins); Tom Reynolds (CBC Monkstown) for Walsh (68 mins); Luke Fagan (Skerries RFC) for Blaney (68 mins).
Referee: John Lillis (Munster).
