U18 Boys come up short against Leinster

Leinster 26

(Conor Martin two tries; Byron O’Hara and Rocco Quigley one try each; Conor Martin three conversions)

Connacht 19 

(Seán Cashell, Krystian Kopczynski and Tom Smyth one try each; Daragh Murray two conversions)

By Ivan Smyth

Connacht’s U18 team suffered their first defeat of the PwC Age Grade Interpros despite a stirring comeback against a well organised Leinster.

The home province will rue coming up empty handed on too many visits to the Leinster 22 in the opening half but Connacht will take heart from coming back from 26-7 behind to leave the result in doubt until the final phase. 

The opening half was characterised by Leinster’s impressive efficiency and their excellent scramble defence. From the kick-off Leinster gained possession as out half Channing Dafel produced a searing line break into the Connacht 22 before his offload found Conor Martin.

The scrum half tried to find Jed Conroy but Connacht managed to bat possession back their way. However, Connacht lost focus momentarily at the breakdown as the ball squirted out the ball and over the try line with centre Byron O’Hara reacting quickest to dot down for a 7-0 lead.

Connacht thought they had hit back immediately when Joe Boote blocked down Martin’s clearing kick from the resulting restart and although the Connacht number eight dotted down, the ball was adjudged to have crossed the dead ball line. 

Repeated Leinster infractions saw Excell Ekemhenrethian sin binned but the visiting province held firm from the resulting five metre scrum despite being down a forward in the pack. Connacht were penalised for entering in from the side of a ruck as they resided just millimetres out from the Leinster try line.

This allowed Leinster to relieve the pressure and from the first phase off the resulting lineout, Rocco Quigley sliced through the Connacht defence before touching down under the posts for a 14-0 lead. Connacht responded impressively to that set back as after out half Evan McDonagh got every inch out of his kick to the corner, the home province claimed lineout ball before Seán Cashell crashed over with Daragh Murray adding the extra two points.

There was further action in a thoroughly enjoyable opening half as Leinster claimed the restart before Conor Martin dived over and added the conversion to leave Leinster 21-7 ahead at half time.

The next score was to prove pivotal as after impressive work from Ciaran Dunne allowed Martin slice in from the left flank to grab an unconverted try.

Connacht showed impressive fortitude to fightback. After going to the lineout before utilising the pack, Connacht earned a scrum five metres out from the Leinster line. Krystian Kopczynski took advantage of rare space afforded by the Leinster defence to dive over and reduce Connacht’s arrears to 26-14. 

In the dramatic closing stages, Leinster lost lock Ciaran Dunne to the sin bin as Connacht, buoyed by a fervent home support at Creggs, managed to cross once more as a perfectly judged offload from David Walsh to Tom Smyth allowed the winger to dive over.

In the final passage of play, Connacht sought to attack from deep inside their own 22 and even though they progressed beyond the Leinster 10 metre line, Michael Redmond and Aidan Tamming combined to earn the penalty and ensure Leinster survived.

Leinster: Leon Rogan, Michael Redmond, Harry Ward, Byron O’Hara, Rocco Quigley, Channing Dafel, Conor Martin, Joe Costello, Dennis Phelan, Excell Ekemhenrethian, Ciaran Dunne, Jimmy Shorten, Aidan Tamming, Jed Conroy, Killian James.

Replacements Used: Olly Quinn, Joe Codd, CJ Jones, Eoghan Saunders, Sirio Scalabrino Noone, Scott O’Shea.

Connacht: Josh Keane, Elliot Friel, David Walsh, Daragh Murray, Tom Smyth, Evan McDonagh, Liam Cadden, Peter Daniel Sunny, Adam Murphy, Aengus Langan, Sean Cashell, Jeaic Fahy, Eoin Healy, Cormac Reddington, Joe Boote.

Replacements Used: Jude Kennedy, Krystian Kopczynski, James Spellman, Senan Walsh, Ethan Biggins, Eoin Gannon, Cian Silke, Alex Boland.

Referee: John Lillis.