On 48 minutes, when Harry West put the finishing touches on a beautifully-conceived and executed Connacht power play, the giant digital screen at the College Road end confirmed that the home team were 20-13 in front. Suddenly, we had the prospect of a result befitting the occasion.
But Leinster weren’t here to celebrate the opening of a smart stadium upgrade. They have been in sticky situations before this season and once again, adversity seemed to bring the best out of them.
Guided by their veteran scrum half Luke McGrath, and sparked by the thrust of Charlie Tector in midfield, they spent the vast majority of the remaining minutes in Connacht territory and ended up winning that period 21-3.
By the time that Ciarán Frawley nailed the four-try bonus, the air had well and truly been sucked from what is now a spanking arena, and the vast majority of a 12,481 crowd had to accept that they had been over-powered.
Leinster’s tenth victory on the bounce sees them leap-frog Ulster and Munster into the top four of the URC. Realistically, this result is what should happen when Leo Cullen fields a team with so many front-rank internationals.
Twelve days from Ireland’s Six Nations opener in Paris, Caelan Doris, James Ryan, Garry Ringrose, James Lowe all played 80 minutes, as well as Harry Byrne — who kicked six from six off the tee — and Frawley, both of whom may have roles to play at the Stade de France.
The worrying news for Andy Farrell is that his loose-head problems were compounded by the departure of Jack Boyle, who was taken off on a stretcher with a calf injury after 20 minutes, and who will be out “for a while” by Cullen’s estimation. With Andrew Porter and Paddy McCarthy already out of the picture, Farrell is running short on credible options on the left side of the scrum.
The Munster pair of Jeremy Loughman and Michael Milne are most probably the next two cabs off the rank.
Connacht clearly reckoned that Leinster were vulnerable at scrum-time too. Despite starting with props aged 20 and 24 in Billy Bohan and Sam Illo respectively, they went hard in the tight and got some reward. They also tackled like demons for as long as they had the energy.
The loudest roar of the night came when the relentlessly aggressive Sean Jansen buried Gus McCarthy as the Leinster hooker arced behind the lineout. When the ball went forward and Eoghan Cross gave Connacht the scrum, Caolin Blade jumped about his own body-height in jubilation and the Dexcom erupted.
But even though Stuart Lancaster had loaded his bench with as much muscle he could muster, you felt they had to build a considerable lead if they were to make Leinster doubt themselves. If Leinster had scripted the opening in advance, it would have looked pretty much like how it turned out. Yes, Connacht landed a few early blows, but two lineout errors allowed the visitors to escape upfield, where they made sure to register the first points of the contest.
Fintan Gunne’s try was the product of low-risk, well-rehearsed plays: a snappy under-hand throw to the front of the lineout, then a crisp sequence of recycles off a tap penalty, before the young scrum half seized his moment.
Having seen their supporters subdued by this gut-punch, Connacht knew they had to re-ignite the stadium. It took them just three minutes to do just that.
We have touchdown: Tector goes over for Leinster’s third try
SAM BARNES/SPORTSFILE
One of the key players in this reprisal was Shane Jennings, whose energy was contagious. As Doris sought to lead Leinster’s exit off the restart, Connacht’s wing swooped for the poach and won the penalty. Josh Ioane had no hesitation in punting to the corner. The decision was justified when Dylan Tierney-Martin squirrelled underneath RG Snyman to score.
An edgy, narky and generally low-quality half ensued, with Leinster paying Connacht the compliment of kicking whatever points were on offer and the home team generally looking happier while disrupting, hounding and smashing opponents. A half-time scoreline of 13-13 kept the home supporters optimistic.
They were positively ecstatic when West finished a sweeping sequence made memorable by Ioane’s quick hands and Jansen’s pop-pass to Finn Treacy. Three minutes later, they celebrated just as loudly, when Cian Prendergast defused a dangerous situation caused by Gunne’s electric dummy-and-dash from the side of a ruck.
But Leinster always looked menacing whenever they spent time in Connacht’s 22. Three of their four tries came from tapped penalties, the second of those — by Snyman on 57 minutes — requiring just two phases to complete.
Three minutes later came Tector’s try, directly off first phase — a rousing break but an embarrassing lapse by Ioane and Bundee Aki. Sam Gilbert reduced the gap to 23-27, but it was a temporary respite. Off Leinster’s next tapped penalty, Byrne’s double-pump prised an opening for Frawley and even with nine minutes remaining, the deal was done.
Scorers: Connacht: Tries Tierney-Martin 12, West 48 Cons Gilbert 13, 49 Pens Gilbert 24, 33, 67. Leinster: Tries Gunne 8, Snyman 57, Tector 60, Frawley 70 Cons Byrne 9, 58, 61, 71 Pens Byrne 27, 31
Connacht S Gilbert; S Jennings, H West, C Forde (B Aki 10-20, 49), F Treacy; J Ioane (J Carty 64), C Blade (B Murphy 72); B Bohan, D Tierney-Martin (E de Buitléar 71), S Illo (J Aungier 10-20, 49), J Murphy, D Murray (J Joyce 65), C Prendergast (capt), P Boyle (S O’Brien 62), S Jansen.
Leinster C Frawley; J Kenny (R Moloney 78), G Ringrose, C Tector, J Lowe; H Byrne, F Gunne (L McGrath 55); J Boyle (J Cahir 20), G McCarthy (R Kelleher 49), N Smyth (A Sparrow 49), RG Snyman (B Deeny 72), J Ryan, A Soroka (D Mangan 45-55), W Connors (S Penny 49), C Doris (capt).
Referee E Cross (IRFU) Attendance 12,481