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USA Eagles fly half AJ MacGinty scored two points on Saturday as his side defeated Leinster in a round 18 Guinness Pro 12 fixture in Galway, Ireland. Critical to the 7-6 victory was the Eagles successful kick as the MacGinty Conversion ultimately gave Connacht the one point win.
The Eagles playmaker’s conversion came in the 14th minute as he turned his team’s try into a seven pointer. Scored by Kieran Marmion, the try would be the only one of the afternoon as Connacht failed to score again and Lester’s six points came from second half penalties from the boot of Ian Madigan.
MacGinty had opportunities to score additional points but a combination of opting to kick for the corner and his penalty kick at goal falling short restricted his contribution.
A 51st minute line break from MacGinty saw Connacht attacking inside Leinster’s 22 but, rather than kick for goal, the team went for the corner from a resulting penalty. In the end it mattered not as Connacht held on for a famous win.
The four competition points see Connacht go four points clear of Leinster to now have an outright lead in the standings. Leinster remain in second but are now just two points ahead of the third placed Scarlets. Both Leinster and Connacht will face Irish opposition again next weekend with Leinster at home to Munster and Connacht facing Ulster in Belfast.
