Connacht Vs Leinster Pro 12 Final

Connacht and Leinster will next week face each other in the Pro 12 Final in BT Murrayfield. Both sides fully deserve to be in next week’s final after strong performances throughout the season. Everyone will say straight away that the final should be moved because it is two Irish teams but the reason for the set venue or the final is to give more people the chance to travel to the final. Nobody would be arguing if two Welsh teams had made the final.

Back to the game next weekend , both sides have had players that have been stand out performers all season with Bundee Aki and Matt Healy from the Connacht side being two key men all season. The calls for Matt Healy to be included in the Ireland squad for the tour in South Africa have intensified in recent weeks , by the middle of this week he and the rest of us will find out whether he has made the cut to tour to South Africa.

From a Leinster point of view , the partnership of Ben Te’o and Gary Ringrose has been a real bright spark in a season that failed to deliver on a European  front  but they have certainly channelled that disappointment into a really strong finish in the Pro 12.

 They will probably go into the final this weekend as favourites owing to the fact that they have previous experience in Finals where Connacht will be in there first ever domestic Final. This season has been a real revelation for all throughout the Pro 12 as Connacht have stormed to the top of the table and have been playing an attacking brand of rugby that not many teams have been able to live with this year.

They will come up against a well drilled Leinster defence that has been revitalised under Kurt Mc Quilken  although some of the attacking treat that was in evidence while Joe Schmidt was in charge has disappeared but Leo Cullen doesn’t have the same quality in his back line as Schmidt had in his.

If Leinster win on Saturday it will vindicate everything that Leo Cullen has done although people will still point to some poor displays in Europe as a major blot on his copy book. After the World Cup disappointment of a Quarter Final exit to Argentina , how many people would honestly have though that Ireland would have both teams in the Final and have 3 out of 4 in the Semi Finals. For all the doom and gloom the provinces have put all European disappointment behind them and really had a strangle hold on the Pro 12.

Pat Lam for his part can be extremely happy with what his Connacht side has done in the last two years under his stewardship. The work of his predecessors namely Michael Bradley and Eric Elwood cannot be understated or downgraded and I am sure if Connacht do win next weekend he will be the first man to tip his hat in the direction of messer’s Bradley , Elwood and also current Irish 20s coach Nigel Carolan who is the Connacht academy manager that unearthed talent like Ultan Dillane , Sean O Brien , Jack Carty and Matt Healy.

The Final this weekend will be a very special occasion for all involved with Leinster and more especially Connacht , it is a moment when all involved can look at the hard work they have put in over the last few years has come to fruition and they can also look at the IRFU and say to anybody that was involved in the talks to disband Connacht how wrong that decision would have been. Next Saturday is full justification for everybody who fought to keep Connacht alive all those years ago.

The heart says it has to be a Connacht win but the head and previous final experience probably suggests that Leinster will win the Final and secure another title…

By

Cian Mc Gibney

23/05/2016