A late score at the RDS saw the visitors threaten a last-minute comeback, but it was Leinster who ultimately finished the stronger of the two sides, as a last-gasp Zane Kirchner try secured the win.
And O’Connor said he wasn’t particularly worried, despite Connacht’s try putting the hosts under pressure late on.
“We’ve got some tremendous leaders out there and I thought we were always going to manage that situation. With the wind behind you and the way the game was going, it wasn’t as nerve-racking as it might have been.”
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The coach felt Leinster’s experience ultimately proved vital, singling out Shane Jennings and Kevin McLaughlin for special praise, as the hosts improved, particularly in their rucking and tackling.
“We weren’t as accurate as we needed to be against some very good blokes over the ball in those back-to-back games against Harlequins, so it was a focus for us. The inclusion of Jennings and McLoughlin was pretty important in that and their understanding of the game and interpros in particular was very important not only tonight but in the week, so we’ll [continue to] look to the experienced guys.
“There were some genuine improvements there, given where we’d been in recent weeks. Our intent was much better with what we were doing at the breakdown, getting off the line and tackling. It was a pretty pleasing performance.
“I thought we started very well. We were unlucky not to get a bit more in the first half. There was a guy in the bin and we probably didn’t execute it as well as we could have, but I thought it certainly set down a marker for which way the game was going to go.
“In the second half, we didn’t have a lot of opportunities and they controlled possession pretty well, but we did enough to compromise their discipline and kicked a few penalties, which kept our noses in front.
“The composure was very good at that stage. That’s where the game can get away from you and give them a little bit of belief, but I thought we stuck to our guns pretty well at the end and fortunately we got that try.”
O’Connor was wary of the threat posed by Connacht scrum-half, Kieran Marmion, in particular, but felt his team dealt well enough with the Ireland international.
“They didn’t play with a lot of width, which gave us the ability to get more narrow and I thought Marmion was a real threat for them, but I thought we coped well with nullifying his threat. We worked hard in and around the fringes, and there were some key turnovers at critical stages.
The victory consequently sets Leinster up nicely as they prepare for a vital few weeks ahead.
“Momentum’s huge. The four points was very important for us tonight. We knew we needed to put out a performance in the RDS that everyone was proud of in the group.
“The wider community’s a little bit irrelevant to us. It’s all about making sure that people [in the team] are happy with the performance they put out. There was a lot of very good things there — huge improvements and the result was important.”
As a critic of his, I think he is right. If the players know they have played well and they win, then the rest of us are just spectators. I only saw a bit of the game, but Leinster looked good. Alan.
I’m not just a spectator. I pay my hard earned money to watch Leinster. I buy official products for myself and two boys.
Me and all the rest of the fans who do the same pay his and the players wages and without us there would be a totally different club.
Our opinions matter.
It was still a poor performance. The Westies made so many basic handling errors and dropping the ball in or around rick time, it would have been a travesty if Leinster lost but however were only 3 points ahead on 78 minutes! There are still lots of problems to fix and again Jimmy at 10 can no longer be an option when Maddog is fit and allowed to play under the player welfare protocol. I was at the game and haven’t seen The replay but can someone tell me what happened the scrum!! Connacht destroyed our scrum!! This was a worry. At one stage we were held up and almost got in for a try around 70 mins so ended in a scrum 5m. We lost the scrum and Connacht earned a penalty kicking to touch and eventually ended in another scrum just outside the 22. Connacht won another penalty at scrum time and same result went down the line and eventually ended in another scrum half way inside our 22. So in a matter of 4 minutes we went from failing to score a try to losing two or three line outs and giving away two or three penalties at scrum time. A better team on their day would have made Leinster pay for those errors especially in only a 3 point game in the last 10 minute of the game. Another frustrating performance in all but that 10 minute spell was v poor IMHO.
Leinster comment. Last night I really wanted Connacht to at least give the lads a big scare. I’m glad that both teams were great. MOC must have been watching “A place in the sun” reruns during the match on his monitor come out with such nonsense.
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A better cohesive game from Leinster, by far the best this season. Less unforced errors and sloppy play.
Did he just say Leinster fans are irrelevant?
As a critic of his, I think he is right. If the players know they have played well and they win, then the rest of us are just spectators. I only saw a bit of the game, but Leinster looked good. Alan.
I’m not just a spectator. I pay my hard earned money to watch Leinster. I buy official products for myself and two boys.
Me and all the rest of the fans who do the same pay his and the players wages and without us there would be a totally different club.
Our opinions matter.
Leinster defence absolutely superb last night. You have to give credit to MOC for that.
It was still a poor performance. The Westies made so many basic handling errors and dropping the ball in or around rick time, it would have been a travesty if Leinster lost but however were only 3 points ahead on 78 minutes! There are still lots of problems to fix and again Jimmy at 10 can no longer be an option when Maddog is fit and allowed to play under the player welfare protocol. I was at the game and haven’t seen The replay but can someone tell me what happened the scrum!! Connacht destroyed our scrum!! This was a worry. At one stage we were held up and almost got in for a try around 70 mins so ended in a scrum 5m. We lost the scrum and Connacht earned a penalty kicking to touch and eventually ended in another scrum just outside the 22. Connacht won another penalty at scrum time and same result went down the line and eventually ended in another scrum half way inside our 22. So in a matter of 4 minutes we went from failing to score a try to losing two or three line outs and giving away two or three penalties at scrum time. A better team on their day would have made Leinster pay for those errors especially in only a 3 point game in the last 10 minute of the game. Another frustrating performance in all but that 10 minute spell was v poor IMHO.
I think Maks Van Dyk was on at that stage and he struggled otherwise the scrum was fine for most of the game
Leinster comment. Last night I really wanted Connacht to at least give the lads a big scare. I’m glad that both teams were great. MOC must have been watching “A place in the sun” reruns during the match on his monitor come out with such nonsense.