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Connacht won in Dublin against Leinster for the first time since September 2002 when midfielder Jack Carty plotted a seismic bonus point win over Guinness kingpins PRO14 at the RDS Arena.
Eager for a retirement from Ireland, Carty scored 25 points to end Leinster’s proud 26-match PRO14 winning streak. It was their first loss at home to another Irish province in more than five years.
The man of the match landed twice and kicked 10 points as Connacht, stung by last Sunday’s home loss to Ulster, galloped to a 25-5 lead at halftime.
Alex Wootton’s latest attempt had canceled Scott Penny’s only score for a much-changed Leinster, who had lost returning Jonathan Sexton due to a failed evaluation of a head injury.
Captain of the Night, Luke McGrath added a second Leinster try and Ryan Baird took a third, but Tom Daly’s 72-minute interception effort sealed the historic result before Ed Byrne scored a last-minute bonus point for the hosts.
Full match details
The visitor’s promising exit was rewarded in the eighth minute when Carty intercepted a high pass from Ross Molony and ran clear to score from 55 yards.
Carty’s conversion was followed by a missed penalty in the 12th minute, but Athlone’s man soon finished for his second attempt. Having teamed up with Caolin Blade on a quick break, he then made his way with the support of Quinn Roux.
Now 12-0 down, Leinster leveled off despite Sexton’s untimely departure. McGrath took advantage of some space around the strip and sent wing Scott Penny for his sixth attempt of the season.
However, the conversion was pushed by McGrath, and Carty went on consecutive penalties, the last one rewarding John Porch for chasing down Jimmy O’Brien, who had moved up to No. 10 on a makeshift Leinster baseline.
At interval, Connacht’s aggressive defense returned them to scoring range and winger Wootton was released to the left corner with Carty converting with poise.
McGrath fired straight from a ruck just three minutes into the second period, and though O’Brien converted, Carty quickly responded with his third successful penalty for a score of 28-12.
Sean Cronin, one of Leinster’s great hitters on the bench, menacingly broke from a maul to send Baird to an unconverted 56-minute try.
A later Leinster score, inspired by O’Brien and topped by replacement David Hawkshaw, was disallowed by obstruction by Andrew Smith.
Daly, a true midfield powerhouse for the victors, pounced on a pass from Hawkshaw and fought back against Smith to claim Connacht’s extra points try, converted by Carty.
His first RDS victory was sealed, and Leinster’s only consolation was replacing Byrne’s short-range seven points right in death.
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