2016 Pro12 Grand Final

The 2016 Pro12 Grand Final was the final match of the 2015–16 Pro12 season. The 2015–16 season was the second with Guinness as the title sponsor and the seventh ever League Grand Final. The final was played between Leinster and Connacht.

2016 Pro12 Grand Final

Event	2015–16 Pro12
Connacht Leinster 20 10
Date	28 May 2016
Venue	Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
Man of the Match	John Muldoon
Referee	Nigel Owens (WRU)
Attendance	34,550
Weather	Sunny
← 2015 2017 →

Connacht claimed their first title, winning on a 20–10 scoreline.^[1]

Route to the final

Main article: 2015–16 Pro12

2016 Playoffs

The semi-finals followed a 1 v 4, 2 v 3 system with the games being played at the home ground of the higher placed teams.

20 May 2016 19:45

Leinster	30–18	Ulster
Try: Nacewa 4' c Heaslip 47' c Cronin 64' c Con: Sexton (3/3) Pen: Sexton (3/3) 10', 15', 56'	Report^[2]	Try: Gilroy (2) 38' m, 69' c Con: Pad. Jackson (1/2) Pen: Pad. Jackson (2/2) 26', 31'

RDS Arena Attendance: 19,100 Referee: Ian Davies (WRU)

---

21 May 2016 18:30

Connacht	16–11	Glasgow Warriors
Try: Adeolokun 36' c Con: MacGinty (1/1) Pen: MacGinty (3/3) 24', 52', 64'	Report^[3]	Try: Nakarawa 48' m Pen: Weir (2/2) 26', 56'

Galway Sportsgrounds Attendance: 7,800 Referee: Marius Mitrea (FIR)

Build-Up

It was announced on 8 September 2015 that the seventh Pro12 Grand Final was awarded to Murrayfield Stadium,^[4] the headquarters ^[5] of the Scottish Rugby Union in Edinburgh on 8 September 2015 with the final to be played 28 May 2016. This is only the second time that the Pro12 Grand Final had been awarded to a host city after the success of Belfast in hosting the 2015 final.^[6]

Connacht, who made the play-offs for the first ever time, were appearing in their first ever Pro12 final, while Leinster were making their sixth appearance in the final.^[7][8] Leinster were favorites to win the game, priced at 4/9 with Paddy Power Bookmakers, while Connacht were priced at 13/8.^[9]

The match was shown live on Sky Sports in Ireland and the UK, and on TG4 in Ireland.^{[citation needed]}

Match

Team selection

Connacht named an unchanged team from their semi-final win over the Glasgow Warriors. They were forced to plan without injured loosehead prop Denis Buckley, part of the league's Dream Team for consecutive seasons, with veteran Ronan Loughney continuing to deputise in his place.^[10] At tighthead prop, Ireland international Nathan White remained absent due to a concussion sustained against Leinster in the league meeting between the sides in the regular season.^[11] His Ireland teammate Finlay Bealham started in the number 3 jersey. The team also had to deal with the continued absence of Jack Carty, their top points scorer for the season, as he struggled to return to full fitness following a freak water slide injury in Dubai. United States international AJ MacGinty started at fly-half, with Canada under-age player Shane O'Leary covering from the bench.^[12]

Leinster were without their captain Isa Nacewa, who suffered an arm injury in the semi-final against Ulster. Rob Kearney returned from an ankle injury to start in his place at fullback, while the captaincy was taken on by Jamie Heaslip.^[13] Their other change to the starting lineup from the semi-final saw Ross Molony come into the second row. He replaced Devin Toner, who was a late withdrawal from the squad following the death of his father.^[14] Among the team's longer term absentees was Seán O'Brien, who picked up a hamstring injury in Ireland's Six Nations clash with France that February.^[15] Having struggled for fitness over the course of the year and slipped behind Jack McGrath in Leinster's pecking order, Cian Healy was ruled out for the remainder of the season in May.^[16]

Summary

Connacht full-back Tiernan O'Halloran got the opening try in the 13th minute, running it over in the left corner after Matt Healy had broken through the defence. AJ MacGinty converted to put Connacht in a 7–0 lead.^[17] Leinster were forced into an early change shortly after, when second row Mick Kearney was removed from play with a head injury, to be replaced by Hayden Triggs. Winger Niyi Adeolokun scored Connacht's second try midway through the half after his own high kick and chase to go over in the right corner, giving Connacht a 12–0 lead. MacGinty kicked a penalty on 27 minutes to give Connacht a 15–0 lead which they took into the interval.

Despite the 15-point deficit, Leinster made no replacements at half-time, while Connacht replaced flanker Eoin McKeon with Seán O'Brien. Johnny Sexton opened the scoring for Leinster with a penalty on 43 minutes. MacGinty had an opportunity to respond with his own penalty minutes later, but dropped his effort short. He made amends shortly after however, when his kick through the Leinster defence let Matt Healy in for Connacht's third try on 57 minutes, stretching the lead to 20–3. Former Connacht player Seán Cronin gave Leinster their first try of the game after 67 minutes when he scored in the right corner, with Sexton converting. Injuries to Tiernan O'Halloran and replacement scrum-half John Cooney forced Connacht to reshuffle their backline, with Healy moving to scrum-half, but Leinster were unable to capitalise as neither team scored again with the game finishing 20–10.^[18] The win was the first major trophy for Connacht in their 131-year history.^[19][20][21]

Details

28 May 2016 17:30

Connacht	20–10	Leinster
Try: O'Halloran 12' c Adeolokun 21' m Healy 56' m Con: MacGinty (1/3) Pen: MacGinty (1/2) 27'	Report^[22]	Try: Cronin 66' c Con: Sexton (1/1) Pen: Sexton (1/1) 43'

Murrayfield Stadium Attendance: 34,550 Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU)

Connacht

Leinster

FB 15   Tiernan O'Halloran   68'   71' RW 14   Niyi Adeolokun OC 13   Robbie Henshaw   71' IC 12   Bundee Aki LW 11   Matt Healy FH 10   AJ MacGinty SH 9   Kieran Marmion   60' N8 8   John Muldoon (c) OF 7   Jake Heenan BF 6   Eoin McKeon   41' RL 5   Aly Muldowney LL 4   Ultan Dillane   61' TP 3   Finlay Bealham HK 2   Tom McCartney   71' LP 1   Ronan Loughney   68' Substitutions: HK 16   Dave Heffernan   71' PR 17   JP Cooney PR 18   Rodney Ah You   68' LK 19   Andrew Browne   61' FL 20   Seán O'Brien   41' SH 21   John Cooney   60'   65' CE 22   Shane O'Leary   68' CE 23   Peter Robb   65' Coach:   Pat Lam

FB 15   Rob Kearney   60' RW 14   Dave Kearney   75' OC 13   Garry Ringrose IC 12   Ben Te'o LW 11   Luke Fitzgerald FH 10   Johnny Sexton SH 9   Eoin Reddan   57' N8 8   Jamie Heaslip (c) OF 7   Jordi Murphy BF 6   Rhys Ruddock RL 5   Mick Kearney   16' LL 4   Ross Molony   62' TP 3   Mike Ross   41' HK 2   Richardt Strauss   41' LP 1   Jack McGrath   71' Substitutions: HK 16   Seán Cronin   41' PR 17   Peter Dooley   71' PR 18   Tadhg Furlong   41' LK 19   Hayden Triggs   16' N8 20   Jack Conan   62' SH 21   Luke McGrath   57' FH 22   Ian Madigan   75' FB 23   Zane Kirchner   60' Coach:   Leo Cullen

Man of the Match:   John Muldoon Touch judges: Ian Davies (WRU) Ben Whitehouse (WRU) Television Match Official: Jon Mason (WRU)

Post-match

The victorious Connacht Rugby squad were welcomed back to Galway city on 29 May and paraded around the city on an open-topped bus, from outside the Town Hall Theatre in Courthouse Square to Eyre Square and finally to the Sportsground.^{[23][24][25][26]}

References

1. "Connacht see off Leinster to win first Pro12 title at Murrayfield". Guardian. 28 May 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
2. . 21 May 2016. Archived from the original on 21 May 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
3. . 21 May 2016. Archived from the original on 21 May 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
4. . Archived from the original on 24 October 2015.
5. . Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
6. "Pro12: Edinburgh to host 2016 final at Murrayfield". BBC Sport. 8 September 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
7. "Leinster power through to decider after thrilling play-off". RTE Sport. 21 May 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
8. "Pro12 semi-final: Connacht 16-11 Glasgow Warriors". BBC Sport. 21 May 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
9. "2016 Pro12 Grand Final Betting". Paddy Power. 24 May 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
10. "Major blow to Connacht's title hopes as Bundee Aki and Denis Buckley struggle to shake off injuries". Irish Independent. 25 April 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
11. "Ireland international White forced to retire from rugby after concussion injury". The42. 28 September 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
12. "The water slide accident that cost Jack Carty his spleen and a Pro12 final". The42. 29 September 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
13. "Guinness PRO12 final Preview: Connacht v Leinster". Pro12. 28 May 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
14. "'That's for Dad' - Man of the match Devin Toner's classy tribute". The42. 11 June 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
15. "COMMENT: Slew of injuries threatening Sean O'Brien's Ireland legacy". SportsJOE. 19 February 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
16. "Injured Cian Healy could miss rest of the season". Irish Independent. 3 May 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
17. "Lam's brilliant Connacht earn first-ever trophy with stunning win over Leinster". The 42. 29 May 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
18. "Pro12 final: Connacht 20-10 Leinster". BBC Sport. 28 May 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
19. "Connacht make history with epic victory over Leinster in Pro 12 final". Irish Independent. 28 May 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
20. "'Team for everyone' get their just rewards". Irish Independent. 30 May 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
21. "2016 Pro12 Final: as it happened". The 42. 28 May 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
22. . 2 June 2016. Archived from the original on 2 June 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
23. "Alan Quinlan: A glorious dream is now Connacht's reality but they must keep Pat Lam". Irish Independent. 30 May 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
24. "Thousands pack the streets of Galway for rugby heroes Connacht's homecoming". Irish Mirror. 30 May 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
25. "One almighty party planned for Galway as Connacht's homecoming parade confirmed". The 42. 29 May 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
26. "The top 10 moments from Connacht's historic season". Irish Independent. 3 June 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2016.