Leinster Rugby vs Connacht Rugby
European Rugby Champions Cup
Last 16 2nd Leg
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Friday, 15th April 2022, 17:30
TV: Live: BT Sports
So after all the build-up last week about large-scale wins in the Sportsground, Leinster take just a five point lead into tomorrow's game.
On a couple of occasions Leinster looked like they were going to run away with last week's match, but credit to Connacht for keeping themselves in the tie. They refused to capitulate and forced Leinster into some poor errors, especially in the second half when they really should have added an extra score or two. The home team might have done even better had Jamison Gibson-Park got the red card most observers felt was due for a high tackle. Ultimately the decision to only yellow card him was vindicated by the citing committee but you'd understand Connacht fans being annoyed about it.
Mick Dawson will probably have been quietly relieved that it wasn't a Leinster blow-out as selling tickets for tomorrow was already hard enough with the ludicrous kick-off time of 5.30PM on a work-day. Indeed Leo Cullen was like a carnival huckster in the post-match interview trying to flog tickets. Maybe Connacht will bolster the crowd with some decent travelling numbers. In fairness the last time they played in the Aviva, they thumped Ulster so they will have no fear of the place.
Connacht will also play with zero pressure as Leinster will be heavy favourites to win and win comfortably. Their coach Andy Friend has made just the one change to the starting lineup with Caolin Blade replacing Kieran Marmion at scrum-half. Leinster have made three changes with the very welcome return from injury of Andrew Porter and Ronan Kelleher to the front row. The other change is Gibson-Park coming in for Luke McGrath at scrum-half.
Connacht will give it a decent rattle but with the returning players bolstering Leinster, they should be able to finish things off.
| Leinster Rugby |
Connacht Rugby |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | Hugo Keenan | 15 | Tiernan O'Halloran |
| Jimmy O'Brien | 14 | John Porch | |
| Garry Ringrose | 13 | Tom Farrell | |
| Robbie Henshaw | 12 | Bundee Aki | |
| James Lowe | 11 | Mack Hansen | |
| Johnny Sexton (C) |
10 | Jack Carty (C) |
|
| Jamison Gibson-Park | 9 | Caolin Blade | |
| Andrew Porter | 1 | Matthew Burke | |
| Ronan Kelleher | 2 | Dave Heffernan | |
| Tadhg Furlong | 3 | Finlay Bealham | |
| Ross Molony | 4 | Gavin Thornbury | |
| Josh Murphy | 5 | Leva Fifita | |
| Caelan Doris | 6 | Cian Prendergast | |
| Josh van der Flier | 7 | Conor Oliver | |
| Jack Conan | 8 | Jarrad Butler | |
| Replacements | Dan Sheehan | 16 | Jonny Murphy |
| Ed Byrne | 17 | Denis Buckley | |
| Michael Ala'alatoa | 18 | Jack Aungier | |
| Devin Toner | 19 | Oisin Dowling | |
| Rhys Ruddock | 20 | Abraham Papali'i | |
| Luke McGrath | 21 | Kieran Marmion | |
| Ross Byrne | 22 | Sammy Arnold | |
| Ciaran Frawley | 23 | Conor Fitzgerald | |
| Not Considered
due to Injury |
Will Connors, Michael Milne, Conor O'Brien, James Ryan, Ryan Baird, Jordan Larmour, Harry Byrne |
Shane Delahunt, Alex Wootton |
|
| Officials | Referee: Luke Pearce (RFU) | ||
by Jim O'Connor, © 2022-04-14
