Carty hits new heights as Connacht stun Leinster

Jack Carty produced an outstanding performance as Connacht inflicted Leinster's first domestic defeat of the season at the RDS Arena last Saturday night.

It was Connacht's first ever victory over Leinster at the RDS and they did it in style, earning a bonus point with a 35-24 win.

Carty scored two tries, also kicking three penalties and three conversions for a record-equalling total of 25 points. He was duly named as man of the match after the Guinness PRO14 encounter.

The Athlone man's display has surely given Ireland coach Andy Farrell food for thought ahead of the 2021 Six Nations campaign.

Alex Wootton and Tom Daly crossed for a try apiece and although Leinster scored four tries of their own (via Scott Penny, Luke McGrath, Ryan Baird, and Ed Byrne), it was the Westerners who deservedly triumphed.

From the outset, Connacht played at a high tempo and it didn’t take long for that approach to bear fruit. Carty intercepted the ball on halfway and, backing his pace, ran in a try that he converted himself to give the visitors a merited early lead.

Leinster were keen to attack but Connacht were resolute in defence, especially at the breakdown, with Conor Oliver proving an especially strong presence.

Connacht claimed their second try on 22 minutes. Assisted by the considerable size of Quinn Roux, Carty crossed for the second time as he powered over from close range in the left-hand corner. The Buccaneers player was marginally wide with his conversion, but the visitors established a 12-0 lead.

Leinster lost out-half Johnny Sexton following a head injury assessment on 23 minutes. But they got themselves back into the contest when Penny spotted a gap and crossed for a try which wasn’t converted. Connacht responded emphatically, scoring on three more occasions before the interval.

Carty slotted two penalties before, on the stroke of half-time, Wootton touched down for a try in the left corner, capping off some brilliant play. Carty nailed the conversion from the touchline to see the visitors go into the break leading 25-5.

Leinster started the second half strongly and had a try only three minutes after the resumption. McGrath showed sharp instincts to run in near the posts and Jimmy O’Brien converted.

Connacht’s work at the breakdown was effective and after they won another penalty, Carty stepped up and made no mistake to extend the Westerners' lead further, 28-12.

In an end to end encounter, Leinster were next to score when Baird peeled off a rolling maul to touch down in the corner. O’Brien converted to bring the score to 17-28. With their tails up, the hosts continued to pile on the pressure, but the visitors' well drilled defence kept them at bay.

Connacht wrapped up their bonus-point win when Daly managed an interception and, despite the attention of two Leinster defenders, powered his way over the line for a try which Carty converted.

Leinster would have the final say with a score from Byrne from close range, but it was Connacht who held out for a deserved win, their first away to the eastern province since 2002.

It was the first time that Carty scored two tries in a match and, afterwards, he was understandably delighted with his own display and with Connacht's stunning victory.

"In the hotel beforehand, you could sense something special was brewing and it's just about bottling that up and how you replicate it. That's really the big thing for me, personally," Carty told the 'Irish Mirror'.

Connacht head coach Andy Friend was full of praise for Carty's performance.

"I thought he was brilliant," said Friend. "I thought Caolin (Blade) inside him was very good too and if you've got a nine and 10 on top of their game like the two of them were then it makes it a lot easier to win games of football."

From observing Carty during the warm-up, Friend had a feeling Carty was going to produce something special and so it proved.

"I turned to Jack Birtwhistle, our performance coach who does a lot of work with Jack, and said, 'I've never seen Jack Carty kick like this, it's unbelievable'. So, you knew there was confidence there and I'm just really pleased for him and proud of him.

"It's been a tricky year for him, so for him to come out at the RDS and put out a performance like that against Europe's best is very, very pleasing."

Next up for Connacht is another interprovincial clash as Munster travel to the Sportsground next Saturday night.

With a weakened Munster side having lost to Ulster last weekend, Carty expects the Southerners to come to Galway with "all guns blazing".

Carty added: "That's what you want. You want to play in these games, it'll be a real test for us and we'll look forward to it."

Connacht are currently eight points behind the Reds on the PRO14 Conference B table.

Connacht: 15. John Porch; 14. Peter Sullivan, 13. Sammy Arnold, 12. Tom Daly, 11. Alex Wootton; 10. Jack Carty, 9. Caolin Blade; 1: Denis Buckley, 2. Shane Delahunt, 3. Dominic Robertson McCoy; 4. Gavin Thornbury, 5. Quinn Roux; 6. Eoghan Masterson, 7. Conor Oliver, 8. Sean Masterson.

Replacements: Matthew Burke for Buckley, Jonny Murphy for Delahunt, Conor Kenny for Robertson McCoy, Ultan Dillane for Quinn Roux, Cian Prendergast for S. Masterson, Colm Reilly for Blade, Diarmuid Kilgallen for Wootton, Ben O’Donnell for Sullivan.

Leinster: Max O’Reilly; Andrew Smith, Jimmy O’Brien, Rory O’Loughlin, Dave Kearney; Johnny Sexton, Luke McGrath; Peter Dooley, James Tracy, Michael Bent; Ross Molony, Devin Toner; Ryan Baird, Scott Penny, Dan Leavy. Replacements used: Liam Turner, Ed Byrne, Jack Conan, Sean Cronin, David Hawkshaw, Will Connors, Hugh O’Sullivan, Greg McGrath.