Celtic League/Connacht - 21 Leinster - 26: Leinster remain on course for a Celtic Cup home quarter-final after taking the points in a hard-fought battle with Connacht in the Galway Sportsground yesterday.

The visitors were marginally better than the home outfit in a game that only sporadically sparked, but coach Declan Kidney would have been satisfied to see his team return to winning ways, and with Keith Gleeson performance in his first full match for the province since returning from injury.

The five-point cushion reflected a first-half opportunist try from Felipe Contepomi. That interception proved the difference between the sides in the end, although Leinster looked the more secure in lineouts and their ability to take their chances. And as an added bonus it also secured the unofficial crown as interprovincial champions with five wins from their six matches - the only loss being to Munster.

"We are delighted to get the win because it is a difficult time of the season with it being so broken up," said Kidney, mindful that a home draw ensures his players have extra playing time to impress selectors for the forthcoming Lions and Irish tours.

"The intercept try probably decided it in the end, but we showed good discipline in the second half. The fact that the boys had the courage to run the ball in the first half stood to us because it loosened up the game."

Connacht might well have been left to rue that opportunistic try, leaving them chasing the game after Leinster opened up a 26-9 lead. However, their fortitude and ability to stick to the task was rewarded with what could be a valuable bonus point, particularly against a chasing Cardiff outfit for that Heineken Cup play-off position.

Connacht, forced into playing a continuity game against the wind in the first half, were doing it well, and somewhat surprisingly Leinster followed suit, choosing to put the ball through the hands rather than kick for territory. Thus with both defences on top neither looked like scoring a try - the points coming instead from the respective kickers.

The backrows matched each other with Matt Lacey and John Muldoon, as well as locks Christian Short and Andrew Farley, doing the business in the loose for the home side.

Victor Costello, as always, made the hard yards for Leinster; Gleeson put in the necessary tackles; and Holwell directed the play with his usual assuredness.

With Ben Gissing and Des Dillon controlling the lineouts, Leinster had the upper hand at the break, leading 19-6. But the real difference between the sides was Contepomi's 30th-minute try, a classic intercept from Eric Elwood's attempted inside pass to John Fogarty and a simple 35-metre race to the line.

Although Mark McHugh closed the gap with an early second-half penalty, Leinster opened up a sizeable lead when Costello bulldozed his way over after 52 minutes. The platform had been laid by a penalty kicked to touch when flanker Matt Lacey was harshly penalised for attacking a ruck when the ball looked free. However, Leinster made it count - Gissing taking the lineout before the forwards mauled their way forward. Connacht did well to stop two surges, but from a five-metre scrum Costello controlled and with a trademark lateral break powered over.

With Holwell adding the easy conversion to stretch the lead to 26-9, it was a long way back for the home side.

Yet they were able to match Leinster in the continuity stakes, and from a penalty kicked to touch Connacht produced a sustained assault on the Leinster line. It took some six minutes, but after numerous rucks, mauls, scrums, and expansive play, Lacey secured the touchdown from Connacht's catch and drive after 60 minutes. It took another 19 minutes before the next score - Connacht replicating their earlier try with Lacey grabbing his brace.

It ensured the home outfit got something for their efforts and kept their noses in front of Cardiff.

Table in SPORTS ROUND-UP

SCORING SEQUENCE: 3 mins: Holwell penalty 0-3; 8: Holwell penalty 0-6; 14: Elwood penalty 3-6; 16: Holwell penalty 3-9; 24: Elwood penalty 6-9; 30: Contepomi try, Holwell conversion 6-16; 40: Holwell penalty 6-19. Half time: 6-19. 45: McHugh penalty 9-19; 52: Costello try, Holwell conversion 9-26; 60: Lacey try, 14-26; 79: Lacey try, Elwood conversion 21-26.

CONNACHT: M Mostyn; C McPhillips, D Yapp, M McHugh, D Slemen; E Elwood, C Keane; R Hogan, J Fogarty, S Knoop, C Short, A Farley (capt), P Neville, M Lacey, J Muldoon. Replacements: M Carroll for Neville (60 mins), B Jackman for Fogarty (62 mins), D McFarland for Hogan (67 mins), M Walls for Keane (72 mins).

LEINSTER: D McAllister; D Quinlan, G Brown, F Contepomi, J McWeeney; D Holwell, B O'Riordan; J Lynn, D Blaney, R Nesbitt, B Gissing, D Dillon, C Potts, K Gleeson, V Costello. Replacements: J Heaslip for Costello (61 mins), L Cullen for Gissing (61 mins), B O'Meara for O'Riordan (63 mins), G Hickie for Blaney (75 mins).

Yellow card: D Dillon (78 mins)

Referee: N Williams