While it was never going to amount to anything much more than a disjointed trial match, there were some fine examples of openfield running, some well-taken tries and some contentious hits in tonight’s Ireland Select XV vs Connacht in Donnybrook.

For those selected on the Irish XV, it was a last shot to impress Declan Kidney before the final warm-up game against England; for Connacht, the first tentative steps of their biggest season to date, the prize of Heineken Cup rugby upping the ante from the last number of years spent contesting the Parker Pen and Amlin Cup.

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