It was a full house for all four Irish Provinces this weekend. Connacht snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in Edinburgh on Friday night. Ulster had a comfortable home win against Zebre while Munster got back on track with a win in Treviso. Leinster rounded out the perfect weekend for the Irish teams with a six try hammering of the Scarlets.
Irish Provinces Review after Week 2 of Guinness Pro 12
Connacht:
The trip to Edinburgh was a major test for Pat Lam’s side and for much of the contest they were playing second fiddle to the Scottish team. The home side looked in control until Willie Faloon’s try with five minutes remaining.
This was a performance that was very much a smash and grab victory for Connacht with superb performances from youngsters Jack Carty and Darragh Leader. However, one player that did not perform to the level required was Robbie Henshaw.
Henshaw has been touted in many circles as the man to fill the void left by Brian O’Driscoll, but has a huge amount of work to do if he is to get to start in that position for his country. His passing and positional play was extremely poor and faces a major test in Connacht’s derby game this weekend versus Leinster. Nobody is expecting him to be another Brian O’Driscoll but Henshaw must improve to be an International centre.
Ulster:
A sloppy first half performance didn’t cost Ulster against Zebre, as they ran out comfortable winners against their Italian counterparts on Friday night. They scored five tries to earn their second consecutive try bonus point, but they should have scored a lot more.
Both Rory Best and Luke Marshall butchered early try scoring chances and in general Ulster were very wasteful. There is still much to work on for Ulster but their attacking play, despite the missed chances is of a very high quality.
There was a bit of bad news for Ulster over the weekend with the news that Interim Head Coach Les Kiss is returning to his job as Ireland Assistant Coach next month. Ulster will make an announcement on their new coaching set up in the coming weeks. They travel to the Cardiff Blues this weekend.
Munster:
Anthony Foley got his first win as Munster head coach in a hard fought game against Treviso last Friday. An 11 point victory was deserved for the away side with tries coming from CJ Stander and Simon Zebo with Ian Keatley kicking the rest of the points.
It was very much a work man like performance from Foley’s charges, but he will be fully aware that there are plenty of improvements to be made. Their next two games are at home to Zebre this weekend and then against the Ospreys on Saturday week before their clash with bitter rivals Leinster.
A bonus point victory against Zebre is a must for Munster and with Paul O’Connell, Conor Murray, JJ Hanrahan and David Kilcoyne in with a chance of returning to action this weekend, this should be a formality.
Leinster:
Ian Madigan was the star as Leinster got their season going with an impressive victory over the Scarlets. Playing at inside centre, Madigan crossed for two tries and converted all six tries in a flawless display.
This was a superlative performance by the 25 year old who had a hand in everything that Leinster did well. Madigan has one year left on his contract and with Jonny Sexton’s return from Racing Metro imminent, he could seek pastures new. If Madigan does decide to leave Leinster, he will have a host of top European teams vying for his signature.
Matt O’Connor will be delighted with this improved performance from the Pro 12 champions who welcomed back captain Jamie Heaslip to their side. Heaslip will be looking for his team to kick on after this showing, especially as they head into a local derby with Connacht this weekend.
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