Connacht leave it late to stun Leinster with an 18-17 win this evening in The Sportsgrounds. A last minute try from Meabh Deely sealed a historic win for Connacht, who were brilliant this evening, and utterly deserving of their win.

The game got off to a thrilling start, as Connacht got on the scoresheet inside one minute and 36 seconds, through full-back Maebh Deely. Immediately from kick off, Connacht looked to stun Leinster right out of the blocks, launching several waves of attacks on the Leinster defensive line. A quick pick-and-go from scrum-half Aoibheann Reilly at the base of a ruck on the Leinster 22-line saw Reilly break the line of defence. The scrum half was supported to her left by Meabh Deely, with Reilly drawing in the lone defender before offloading to Deely, who crossed the whitewash to give Connacht the lead inside two minutes. It was a brilliant supporting line from the full-back, whose try stunned the visitors.

The home side would go on to control the opening ten minutes, as they pushed for a second try in the opening exchanges. They looked to execute an offloading-based game-plan, prioritising ball-in-play time to keep the tempo of the game high. They thrived when the play was scrappy, and looked to have rattled the visitors.

Leinster, to their credit, responded well to this early onslaught, coming up with some strong carries and possessions. They got a try for themselves in the 15^th minute through second-row Eimear Corri. Following a series of strong carries from Leinster, Corri picked up the ball just inside the Connacht half, sticking on the afterburners to break the defensive line and stride towards the try line. Despite the best efforts of full-back Deely, Corri did just enough to dive over the line to draw the sides level. It was a wonderful run from the lock, who defied the odds to outpace the Connacht backs in a race for the line.

Leinster had a chance just three minutes later to take the lead in this game, as Aoife Wafer produced a strong and dangerous run and bared down on the Connacth try line. Deely would make amends for her failed effort to prevent the try minutes earlier, and was able to make a recovering tackle and force a turnover.

Leinster’s Aoife Wafer was shown a yellow card in the 27^th minute for a late hit on Connacht’s fly-half Nicole Fowley, her attempted tackle well behind the run of play. It looked as if this decision could cost Leinster significantly, but the visitors were able to limit their losses to just three points after a penalty from Fowley immediately after Wafer’s dismissal.

Following the half-time break, and now back to full numbers, Leinster came out firing. The visitors would power over the Connacht try line following a powerful driving maul inside the 22. Following the powerful drive, Katie Whelan took the ball from the base of the maul, passing to Sene Taiti-Fanene, who ran a brilliant line to slice through the Connacht defence. A Dannah O’Brien conversion would extend the visitors’ lead to four points with over half an hour to play.

In the 51^st minute, Connacht were reduced to 14 players for 10 minutes following a high tackle from Clara Barrett on Leinster fly-half Naoise O’Reilly. Barrett knew she had made a mistake, and could have no complaints for the card. Leinster immediately made their numbers advantage count, as they kicked the ball to the corner to mount the pressure on the home side. Following a strong lineout maul from the visitors, they played the ball out wide, producing some excellent passes through the backs. Aoife Dalton ran an excellent line and drew her defender in, before releasing O’Reilly with a soft pop-pass, the fullback cruising over the line.

Connacht refused to go down without a fight, however, and got themselves back on the scoreboard just eight minutes later through substitute Orla Dixon. Following a scrum inside the Leinster half, Meabh Deely picked up the ball on the right wing and produced a dangerous run down the flank. Deely, with Dixon running an excellent support line, found her teammate with a perfect offload, setting the winger through for an excellent score. Nicole Fowley was unable to add the extra two for the conversion, the kick from right out on the touchline, but Connacht had reduced Leinster’s lead to just four points with twenty minutes to play.

Leinster came close to adding to their lead on multiple occasions, but Connacht proved stubborn in defence and refused to give up in this game. Aoibheann Reilly produced a moment on brilliance in the 76^th minute, running 60 metres from her own line, and Connacht were on the attack in the dying moments of this game. This move ultimately came to nothing, following a knock on, but Connacht were knocking at the door late in this game.

With Connacht parked in the Leinster half for much of the dying minutes, the forwards produced a series of excellent drives. Substitute scrum half Olivia Haverty then whipped the ball out wide to Clara Barrett, who sped past the out-of-position prop to bear down on the try line. Barrett then offloaded to Deely, who ran an excellent support line to score a last-minute winner for Connacht.

Leinster had enough time to take the kick-off, and were able to regather possession. Leinster hopes were raised in the 86^th minute when they were awarded a penalty, albeit from 40 metres out. Substitute fly-half Lisa Mullen was unable to land the difficult kick, giving Connacht the win.

Connacht were brilliant this evening, and produced a wonderful performance from start to finish, and thoroughly deserved this win at The Sportsground. Deely is the pick of the lot, scoring tries in the opening and closing minutes of the game, but player of the match could have gone to any number of players.

Full Time, Connacht 18-17 Leinster