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It will be an all Irish affair at the Guinness PRO12 Final on Saturday (28 May) as, after 22 rounds of tough competition, the two teams that finished top of the table after the regular season - Leinster and Connacht - will face each other at the iconic BT Murrayfield.
It will be unchartered territory for Connacht who play in their first major tournament final, whilst Leinster have the experience of six previous PRO12 finals and four European finals to count upon.
Leinster saw off the challenge of Ulster winning 30 points to 18 in the Guinness PRO12 Play-Off at a packed RDS Arena on Friday night. And Connacht defeated reigning champions Glasgow Warriors 16-11 sparking unprecedented scenes of celebration at The Sportsground in Galway on Saturday.
Both teams and their supporters will now make their way to Edinburgh to take part in the tournament’s flagship event, the Guinness PRO12 Final, in front of a record crowd at BT Murrayfield.
Tickets for the Guinness PRO12 Final on Saturday 28 May 2016 at 5.30pm at BT Murrayfield, Edinburgh, can still be purchased, visit www.pro12rugby.com for details.
| HEAD TO HEAD - RECENT GUINNESS PRO12 MEETINGS | |||||
| Date | Venue | C | L | Connacht scorers | Leinster scorers |
| Sat 26 Oct 13 | RDS Arena | 13 | 16 | Kieran Marmion(T) Dan Parks(C/2P) | Ian Madigan(C/3P) Penalty Try(T) |
| Sat 4 Jan 14 | Sportsground | 8 | 16 | Jack Carty(P) Fionn Carr(T) | Jimmy Gopperth(C/2P) Gordon D'Arcy(T) Ian Madigan(P) |
| Fri 19 Sep 14 | Sportsground | 10 | 9 | Jack Carty(C/P) Kieran Marmion(T) | Ian Madigan(3P) |
| Fri 19 Dec 14 | RDS Arena | 11 | 21 | Jack Carty(2P) George Naoupu(T) | Jimmy Gopperth(C/3P) Shane Jennings(T) Zane Kirchner(T) |
| Fri 1 Jan 16 | RDS Arena | 0 | 13 | - | Ian Madigan(P) Johnny Sexton(C/P) Josh van der Flier(T) |
| Sat 26 Mar 16 | Sportsground | 7 | 6 | Aj MacGinty(C) Kieran Marmion(T) | Ian Madigan(2P) |
Connacht play in the first major final in their history and achieved their best ever finish in the Guinness PRO12. Connacht’s only defeat in their last four matches was 21-22 in Treviso in round 21. Connacht have won on three of their last four visits to BT Murrayfield.
Leinster are attempting to win the Guinness PRO12 title for the fifth time and the first since 2014. The Leinstermen have played in six previous PRO12 finals with a record of won three, lost three, their most recent defeat at this stage being 30-31 to Ospreys at the RDS Arena in 2012. Leinster’s only defeat in their last five fixtures was 6-30 at Ulster in round 21. Leinster have won on thee of their last four visits to BT Murrayfield and were also victorious at the venue when beating Leicester Tigers in the European Champions Cup final in 2009.
The two sides have met on 27 previous occasions in the Guinness PRO12 with Leinster having the edge by 20 wins to seven – this is their first ever meeting outside Ireland.
CONNACHT v LEINSTER
At BT Murrayfield, 5.30pm
Live on SKY SPORTS / TG4
Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU, 136th competition game, 4th Final)
Assistant Referees: Ian Davies, Ben Whitehouse (WRU)
Officials: 4 Lloyd Linton; 5 Bob Nevins; 6 Tom Mc Nicol (all SRU)
Timekeeper; Paul Cyphus (SRU)
Citing Commissioner: Maurizio Vancini (FIR)
TMO: Jon Mason (WRU)
