Jamie Osborne and Charlie Tector crossed for first-half tries as Leinster beat Connacht 20-12 at the Aviva Stadium; Oisin Dowling and Shane Jenning crossed in the second half to set up a big finish but Leinster held on to make it 10 wins from 10 in all competitions this season.
Last Updated: 21/12/24 10:26 PM
Charlie Tector is congratulated after crossing for Leinster's second try
Rugby Championship leaders Leinster made it 10 wins from 10 in all competitions but had to work hard for a 20-12 victory over Connacht at the Aviva Stadium.
Tries from Andrew Osborne and Charles Tector gave Leinster a 14-0 half-time lead, although they should have done more with a yellow card for Connaught center Shane Jennings.
After seeing Ross Byrne take a penalty, Connacht capitalized on Lee Barron's penalty to make it a five-point game, with Oisin Dowling and Jennings both crossing.
Mack Hansen continued to win for the Westerners, but the last 20 minutes came to an end when Leinster maswr Byrne got the result with a penalty in the 79th minute.
With 13 changes from last week, Leo Cullen's men applied early pressure. Connacht dug in defensively with Bundee Aki and Jennings coming up with crucial plays.
Nineteen minutes in, Byrne used a zippy move off the largely unreliable Leinster line to send Osborne racing over. Byrne turned.
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Jennings then saw yellow for a late tackle on Luke McGrath and the Connacht midfield was opened up again. Barrett quickly slipped Tector through to score, with Byrne converting.
In a short time Connacht got a boost by chasing Paul Boyle and Josh Ioane, until the latter had to be injured.
Darragh Murray's ability to steal the Leinster lineout was a major challenge for the visitors, along with Shamus Hurley-Langton's conversion winners.
Playing into the wind on the restart, Byrne pushed the margin out to 17 points but Connacht responded well.
Constant Leinster penalties landed another Barron in the sin bin in the 51st minute, and the resulting tap penalty saw Dowling dug over.
Hurley-Langton and Hansen provided further spark, and with Leinster increasingly narrow in defence, Jennings was put behind the posts. Forde's conversion closed the gap to 17-12.
Connacht captain Cian Prendergast did brilliantly to keep Barron at bay, denying a standout try on the 70-minute mark.
Jimmy O'Brien was then binned to bring Hansen out in the air to give the visitors hope, but it was Byrne who got the last word for the table-toppers.
