The Christmas inter-provincial series got off to a tight and dramatic start over the weekend.
Despite a dominant early period from Leinster, Connacht found an attacking template that put the host's defence under pressure.
Connacht either had a word with themselves at half-time and changed their strategy, or simply executed their attacking game plan properly in the second half.
There was a strong wind blowing at the Aviva, giving a distinct advantage to the team playing with it, Connacht enjoying it at their back after the break.
It made the territorial battle difficult for the team playing into the wind, which resulted in the visitors enjoying their fair share of possession while chasing the game.
It was obvious how they decided to go about giving Leinster a difficult time on their home patch.
They either played through their first pod of forwards, sweeping a pass to their 'boot’ player, which was usually Cathal Forde, who stepped into the out-half slot after Josh Ioane went off injured.
Or they went straight to that ‘boot’ play to Forde, who then threw a deeper pass behind their next two forwards and sometimes a third deep pass, bringing play around the compact Leinster defence.
Because of the narrow, compact and aggressive line-speed from Leinster, once you clear that inside congestion, it leaves outside backs more isolated and angling in to shut down the deeper attack.
Shane Jennings’ try is an example of this strategy. Cian Prendergast, who was hugely impressive throughout, had acres of space before passing to Jennings to run under the posts, after a deep pass put Connacht into space on the edge.
They ran Leinster ragged before that and will most likely regret not getting into this rhythm sooner.
Shane Jennings puts the finishing touches to a superb Connacht team try.
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) December 21, 2024
📺 Watch: https://t.co/oyUHkHGBQg
📱 Follow: https://t.co/AHKqPlUwlY #LEIvCON pic.twitter.com/79NTOhCHNv
They set up some of these plays by using the shorter attacking side to shorten the defence. Piers O’Conor, Mack Hansen, Bundee Aki and Jennings were all in full flight at various stages.
Jordie Barrett, in his player of the match performance, was able to stop the attack dead on two occasions with big hits on Aki and Jennings, but it wasn’t enough to solve the problem as the latter scored on the far side.
The Connacht template has certainly exposed Leinster, but that’s been said before. A template is only a solution, and it doesn’t take an attacking genius to see what other teams have done before.
Executing that across the full game, with Leinster’s own threats and the balance to their game, is where the winning and losing of the match occurs.
Munster have a template if they want to use it. However, they won’t face the same team on paper.
Leinster will now stack their side with reinforcements travelling to Thomond Park to make it 2/2 in the Christmas interprovincial series. Leo Cullen has suggested that more players will be available for the next round.
Munster might surprise us with some traditional Thomond Park passion and a clear gameplan, however Connacht were strong on Saturday night and still couldn’t overcome a Leinster side littered with academy players, mixed in with some of their internationals.
That’s not disrespecting Leinster’s academy, which is arguably the strongest in the world. But they were a few players into their depth chart in certain positions and the quality that they can re-introduce is frightening.
Leinster’s lineout has been poor, and their scrum has wavered. Perhaps we'll witness a strong set-piece game from Munster to exploit these problems, but they’ve had their own struggles in those departments, not least due to injuries.
Connacht will dust themselves down and return home to take on Ulster. Richie Murphy’s team are on the back of five defeats, having failed to see out the game against Munster, after James McNabney’s try gave them a late lead at home.
Ulster’s defence struggled with Munster’s fast breaks. Tom Farrell caused the most trouble, securing a hat-trick and delivering an assist for Shane Daly, augmenting what was an impressive defensive display from Munster at Kingspan Stadium.
Connacht showed that they can do similar damage in attack, and depending on the constraints around selection, they could cause Ulster an awful lot of trouble at the Dexcom Stadium.
Expect to see a clash between the blunt force that Ulster tried to impose on Munster, and the fast-flowing attack of Connacht.
Ulster persisted with their lineout and maul, despite not getting any change out of Munster, who re-paid Denis Leamy with a strong defensive performance.
Munster kept Ulster in the game with their high penalty count, repeatedly gifting the home side possession and territory.
But Connacht have a strong platform in the scrum and lineout and won’t give Ulster the same access into the game.
Leinster should be far too strong for Munster on Friday night.
Connacht and Ulster should be a lot closer, with my money on Connacht as the form team, Pete Wilkins' side boasting a strong platform to get them over the line at home.
Interprovincial matches always bring a life of their own, replete with mini-narratives playing out within the overall picture.
Last weekend showed how far ahead Leinster are when it comes to squad depth, rotation and the ease at which they can control these derby games.
The gap to the other three provinces seems to be widening once again.
Watch Connacht v Ulster in the URC on Saturday 28 December from 5pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport
