Following a 34-23 victory for Leinster over Connacht in their United Rugby Championship fixture, here are our five takeaways from Dexcom Stadium.
The top line
This was another edgy night where Leinster eventually managed to find a winning way despite not delivering a polished performance.
Just as they had been doing all winter, they did enough to survive another sticky situation to secure a 10th victory in a row – this one enough to move them into fourth position on the league table after last weekend’s comeback success in France nailed down a home match in the Investec Champions Cup Round of 16. Nice.
What wasn’t so palatable was the loss of prop Jack Boyle to injury, compounding the crisis that Ireland have in the loosehead position with the Six Nations set to start on Thursday week in Paris.
This attritional Irish derby was largely a scrappy – yet entertaining – affair as Connacht tried their damnedest to make it a memorable opening night for their new Dexcom Stadium stand, which hugely increased capacity at the sold-out match to over 12,000.
There was a rollicking start, an obvious niggle between these two rival teams driving the exchanges along at a fair old clip. It was no surprise then to have two tries on the board less than 12 minutes in.
Both were similar in their execution. Fintan Gunne dived over for Leinster from a pick-and-drive after an attack that originated from the lineout on eight minutes, and Connacht struck back four minutes later after a throw in at the corner laid the foundation for the pick-and-drive sequence that ended with Dylan Tierney-Martin worming over.
Next, penalty kicks were exchanged. Connacht profited from a James Lowe lapse off the ball on 23 minutes, but that lead secured through Sam Gilbert was short-lived as Leinster’s Harry Byrne levelled it up four minutes later after a scrum infringement.
Byrne then put his side 13-10 ahead on 31 minutes but, in keeping with the nip and tuck pattern, Gilbert levelled it two minutes later after Will Connors was penalised and that was how it stayed until eight minutes into the second half.
With the tempo ratcheting up, a bulldozing Sean Jansen carry and excellent hands from Finn Treacy got Harry West in for a converted Connacht try, but the Leinster response – three converted tries in 13 minutes with only a single Connacht penalty kick in reply – was tasty in turning a seven-point deficit into an 11-point lead.
Springboks lock RG Snyman, a nuisance all night, lit the fuse for the Leinster riposte by blasting over from close range on 57 minutes. The very effective Charlie Tector did likewise less than three minutes later from much further out, nipping in between Tierney-Martin and Jack Aungier.
There was a kick back from Gilbert after a Tector infringement, but the final word went to Ciaran Frawley, who ironically will be a Connacht player from next summer. His try in the corner sealed this comeback Leinster win, securing them the four-try bonus point in the process.
Loosehead crisis
Ireland’s loosehead casualty list has surely had Andy Farrell reaching for the Alka Seltzer in recent weeks. The loss of Andrew Porter to a January 8 Leinster training ground calf injury and then back-up Paddy McCarthy to a foot injury two days later against La Rochelle had already thinned options before last Wednesday’s Six Nations squad announcement.
However, the supposition that Boyle would be the next man up to start the February 5 opener away to France at the Stade de France was dented by the sight of the Leinster prop getting taken away by the medics after he shot up in pain at a 20th-minute scrum on the artificial surface in Galway.
There was initial treatment on the pitch for what seemed to be a calf injury, but the call was quickly made that he would play no further part in the match.
Boyle has just four Test caps, so selection to start against France would have been the biggest match of his young career, but the options Ireland will have to depend on if the Leinster youngster is indeed crocked will be just as inexperienced.
Munster duo Jeremy Loughman and Michael Milne have five and two caps respectively and while Tom O’Toole is also in the squad as a prop who can pack down on both sides, his loosehead experiment was something that didn’t last long. He last played there against Fiji in November 2024.
The Connacht win in their latest loss
It has to be a concern for Connacht that, despite the supposed excellent training ground work under Stuart Lancaster, the fruits of this labour haven’t yet translated onto the field in the URC. This latest loss was their seventh in nine matches, and it has left them in 14th place on the table.
That doesn’t look great, but there is an alternative way of looking at these optics; they have a game in hand and a win in that would see them back in the mix for a play-off spot.
What they can take solace from is how they were competitive for most of this match against Leinster, unlike three weeks ago when they were completely blown away in the second half in Dublin and lost by a wounding 50-17 margin.
Their heart and commitment meant for an excellent atmosphere in front of a record Galway crowd. The opening of their new stand might be seen as small beans outside of Ireland, but there was a great deal of symbolism attached.
Twenty-three years ago this very week, their supporters had to march on IRFU headquarters at Lansdowne Road to protest over plans to close them down.
They eventually were listened to and Connacht are certainly alive and kicking these days, this new stand completing the wish outlined by Pat Lam 10 years ago when Connacht returned from beating Leinster in Edinburgh as PRO12 champions – that a stadium upgrade would be the fitting legacy for that success.
That upgrade is now open for business, and the performance given by Cian Prendergast’s team will surely have fans wanting to return despite Saturday’s result.
Six Nations auditions
While the injury situation surrounding Boyle could have disastrous set-piece consequences for Ireland in France, there were plenty of other Six Nations picks to keep an eye on in Galway, most notably Leinster skipper Caelan Doris.
This was his third successive club start and while the knock-on when hit by Test colleague Bundee Aki must have been annoying, particularly as it led to the scrum that resulted in Boyle’s injury, he was the rock on which Connacht foundered.
Time and again, he was there with the timely tackle and the necessary carry that got Leinster going. It was the sort of excellent, all-court performance that augers well for what lies ahead at Test level.
It will still take some manoeuvring if out-half Byrne is to make the match day cut with Ireland but he was decent at Connacht, the best of the Test rest, so to speak. James Lowe, James Ryan and Garry Ringrose weren’t standouts for Leinster, while there was more wanted from Aki in the Connacht shirt.
What we did like was how Frawley stayed on task. Playing against the team that will be his from next summer, he popped up with the clinching try nearing the finish. He has his critics when it comes to Test level, but it can’t be denied that he has delivered consistently at full-back for Leinster this winter.
Keeping the lid on
We wrote some weeks ago about how these intense Irish inter-provincial fixtures need an experienced referee who doesn’t get fazed by the raucous atmosphere, and Eoghan Cross deserves kudos for his authoritative display.
Of course, some Connacht fans won’t agree, judging by the deafening reaction to some of the official’s calls. That’s what you call partisan support.
Where Cross fared best was ensuring this didn’t spill over into an all-out brawl. There were just 43 seconds gone when he stopped the clock to issue a lecture to Snyman, and it helped to keep things peaceful enough for the first half.
There were then two moments in the second half when things boiled over – the aftermath of the lead-taking 48th-minute Connacht try, and after he had whistled a penalty to Connacht at a 65th-minute scrum.
The referee, though, maintained his composure in those instances, a reaction that marked him out as an official to watch out for in 2026.