History of rugby union matches between Leinster and Connacht
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Connacht Rugby and Leinster Rugby are two Irish rugby union provincial teams that possess a rivalry that dates back to their IRFU Interprovincial Championship clashes during the amateur era. That rivalry has continued and even intensified since the emergence of the professional era in the late 1990s. Connacht and Leinster comprise two of the four Irish provincial teams competing in the United Rugby Championship (formerly known as the Celtic League and then the Pro14). As such, the two sides regularly face each other during the regular season, and occasionally during the knock-out rounds.
The rivalry has been heightened on several occasions due to certain games or events. Connacht and Leinster met in the 2016 Pro12 Grand Final, with Connacht winning 20–10, to claim their first Pro12 championship.[1][2] Leinster has observed that the rivalry leads Connacht to raise their game when playing Leinster, leading to resentment among Leinster players when this causes them to lose matches they had expected to win.[3] Connacht defeated Leinster 47–10 in 2017, and were so comfortable in their victory that they had a forward kick a conversion.[4] Connacht and Leinster players have recognized the rivalry that exists between the two teams.[5]
Below are the historical results of the Irish Rugby Football Union teams, Leinster and Connacht, as part of the IRFU Interprovincial Championship, and later the Celtic League, Pro12 and Pro14.[6][7]
| Played | Won by Leinster | Won by Connacht | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 109 | 86 | 19 | 4 |
Statistics
| Record | Connacht | Leinster |
|---|---|---|
| Longest winning streak | 2 (2015–2016) | 20 (1965–1985) |
| Largest points for | ||
| Home | 47 (2017–18) | 56 (2021–22) |
| Away | 35 (2020–21) | 53 (1999–00) |
| Largest winning margin | ||
| Home | 37 (47–10; 2017–18) | 47 (54–7; 2019–20) |
| Away | 11 (24–35; 2020–21) | 45 (8–53; 1999–00) |
| Largest aggregate score | ||
| 76 (Leinster 56 Connacht 20; 2021–22) | ||
| Lowest aggregate score | ||
| 0 (Leinster 0 Connacht 0; 1960–61) | ||
Results between 1946 and 1995
| Season | Winner | Loser | Winner | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946–47 | Leinster 5 | Connacht 5 | Draw (1) | |
| 1947–48 | Leinster 15 | Connacht 0 | Leinster (1) | |
| 1948–49 | Leinster 3 | Connacht 0 | Leinster (2) | |
| 1949–50 | Leinster 31 | Connacht 3 | Leinster (3) | |
| 1950–51 | Connacht 10 | Leinster 6 | Connacht (1) | |
| 1951–52 | Leinster 39 | Connacht 3 | Leinster (4) | |
| 1952–53 | Leinster 35 | Connacht 0 | Leinster (5) | |
| 1953–54 | Leinster 34 | Connacht 14 | Leinster (6) | |
| 1954–55 | Leinster 6 | Connacht 3 | Leinster (7) | |
| 1955–56 | Connacht 8 | Leinster 6 | Connacht (2) | |
| 1956–57 | Leinster 19 | Connacht 3 | Leinster (8) | |
| 1957–58 | Leinster 9 | Connacht 3 | Leinster (9) | |
| 1958–59 | Leinster 9 | Connacht 3 | Leinster (10) | |
| 1959–60 | Leinster 3 | Connacht 3 | Draw (2) | |
| 1960–61 | Leinster 0 | Connacht 0 | Draw (3) | Lowest scoring match in the history of this fixture |
| 1961–62 | Leinster 13 | Connacht 9 | Leinster (11) | |
| 1962–63 | Leinster 18 | Connacht 17 | Leinster (12) | |
| 1963–64 | Leinster 11 | Connacht 6 | Leinster (13) | |
| 1964–65 | Leinster 6 | Connacht 6 | Draw (4) | |
| 1965–66 | Leinster 13 | Connacht 6 | Leinster (14) | |
| 1966–67 | Leinster 26 | Connacht 3 | Leinster (15) | |
| 1967–68 | Leinster 24 | Connacht 11 | Leinster (16) | |
| 1968–69 | Leinster 15 | Connacht 6 | Leinster (17) | |
| 1969–70 | Leinster 26 | Connacht 6 | Leinster (18) | |
| 1970–71 | Leinster 11 | Connacht 3 | Leinster (19) | |
| 1971–72 | Leinster 12 | Connacht 6 | Leinster (20) | |
| 1972–73 | Leinster 13 | Connacht 0 | Leinster (21) | |
| 1973–74 | Leinster 20 | Connacht 13 | Leinster (22) | |
| 1974–75 | Leinster 12 | Connacht 3 | Leinster (23) | |
| 1975–76 | Leinster 7 | Connacht 0 | Leinster (24) | |
| 1976–77 | Leinster 21 | Connacht 7 | Leinster (25) | |
| 1977–78 | Leinster 30 | Connacht 9 | Leinster (26) | |
| 1978–79 | Leinster 13 | Connacht 6 | Leinster (27) | |
| 1979–80 | Leinster 25 | Connacht 10 | Leinster (28) | |
| 1980–81 | Leinster 18 | Connacht 9 | Leinster (29) | |
| 1981–82 | Leinster 20 | Connacht 10 | Leinster (30) | |
| 1982–83 | Leinster 13 | Connacht 7 | Leinster (31) | |
| 1983–84 | Leinster 29 | Connacht 6 | Leinster (32) | |
| 1984–85 | Leinster 14 | Connacht 3 | Leinster (33) | |
| 1985–86 | Connacht 9 | Leinster 6 | Connacht (3) | |
| 1986–87 | Leinster 41 | Connacht 6 | Leinster (34) | |
| 1987–88 | Leinster 20 | Connacht 19 | Leinster (35) | |
| 1988–89 | Connacht 11 | Leinster 10 | Connacht (4) | |
| 1989–90 | Leinster 16 | Connacht 12 | Leinster (36) | |
| 1990–91 | Leinster 20 | Connacht 18 | Leinster (37) | |
| 1991–92 | Leinster 24 | Connacht 9 | Leinster (38) | |
| 1992–93 | Connacht 28 | Leinster 9 | Connacht (5) | |
| 1993–94 | Leinster 15 | Connacht 11 | Leinster (39) | |
| 1994–95 | Connacht 20 | Leinster 19 | Connacht (6) |