Irish Provinces Review after Week Twelve of Guinness Pro 12
Week 12 of the Guinness Pro 12 took place last weekend and saw all four provinces once again face off against each other. Connacht had a sensational win over Munster, while Leinster put in a strong second half performance to beat Ulster. Here is the review for the Irish Provinces after Week Twelve of the Guinness Pro 12.
Connacht
Connacht beat Munster at the Sportsground last Thursday for only the second time in 42 games. The win was thoroughly deserved by Pat Lam’s side as they outscored their opponents by three tries to one. Playing into a gale force wind in the first half, Connacht kept in the game thanks to Kieran Marmion’s superb try.
Robbie Henshaw was instrumental in Marmion’s try, taking a great line after he collected Craig Ronaldson’s exquisite chip over the Munster defence. Henshaw raced on to the ball and burst into the Munster 22 to put Marmion over for the try.
The try left nine points between the teams at half time and they home side took control thanks to further tries from Aly Muldowney and Ronaldson. It was a dream night for the western province and they will expect to build on this famous win with their next game with is at home to Edinburgh.
Munster:
Munster’s inconsistency reared its head once more as they were well beaten by Connacht last Thursday. The Red Army started the game well thanks to Peter O’Mahony’s try and two penalties and a conversion from Ian Keatley.
With the gale force wind at their backs in the first half everything was going well for Munster until Kieran Marmion’s try. Anthony Foley’s team then decided to kick away the majority of their possession following the try and continued that trend against the wind in the second half.
Chief culprit was out half Ian Keatley who kicked the ball out on the full on several occasions. Keatley was indicative of Munster’s poor tactics and inconsistency. Foley got the game plan all wrong for this game but he and his team have the chance to put things right against bottom of the table Zebre this weekend.
Leinster
Matt O’Connor’s Leinster got back to winning ways against Ulster thanks in the main to a sublime second half performance from out half Ian Madigan. The Blackrock College clubman had an indifferent first half showing but showed his array of talents in the second half finishing the game with 19 points.
Back row man Jack Conan also added to his growing list of admirers with another top notch display topped off by a last minute try. Leinster were full value for the win and it has eased the pressure somewhat on the head coach.
Leinster move into the Pro 12 top four following this win and will expect to consolidate their position by beating Cardiff Blues in Wales this weekend. One bit of worrying news for Leinster following the Ulster game was the injury to Jamie Heaslip but it has been confirmed that it is not too serious and he is expected to return for the Champions Cup game against Castres on the 17th January.
Ulster
Ulster dropped out of the top four after defeat to Leinster at the RDS last Saturday. It will be seen as a frustrating result for all involved in the province as they were by far the better team in the opening forty but went in at half time three points down.
Neil Doak will be furious with the way his side conceded a try in the 42nd minute, falling asleep as Leinster out half Ian Madigan feigned a kick to touch from a penalty and went in for a try. Wiehahn Herbst got his side back into it with his first Ulster try but in truth they never looked like catching Leinster.
Ulster should get back to winning ways this weekend with a trip to second from bottom Treviso. On the injury news front, Tommy Bowe left the Leinster game early in the second half thanks to a head injury he suffered in the opening minutes of the game.
Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow me on Twitter – @johnnybkeogh. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport and @LWOSworld – and “liking” our Facebook page and our Northern Hemisphere Rugby Twitter account @LWOSRugbyNorth.
Have you tuned into Last Word On Sports Radio? LWOS is pleased to bring you 24/7 sports radio to your PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone. What are you waiting for?
Main Photo
