Weather Sunny Date 28 May 2016 Man of the match John Muldoon Event 2015–16 Pro12 | Champion Connacht Rugby Venue Murrayfield Stadium Attendance 34,550 | |
Referee Nigel Owens (Welsh Rugby Union) | ||
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.
Contents
Connacht won their first title, winning on a 20-10 scoreline.
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.
Build-Up
It was announced on 8 September 2015 that the seventh Guinness Pro12 Grand Final was awarded to BT Murrayfield Stadium, the headquarters 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.
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. Leinster were favorites to win the game, priced at 4/9 with Paddy Power Bookmakers, while Connacht were priced at 13/8.
The match was shown live on Sky Sports in Ireland and the UK, and on TG4 in Ireland.
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. Winger Niyi Adeolokun scored a second try midway through the half after his own high kick and chase to go over in the right corner, giving Connacht a 15-0 interval lead. Matt Healy scored Connacht's third try on 57 minutes chasing a kick from AJ MacGinty to go score in the left corner. Sean Cronin got a try for Leinster after 67 minutes when he scored going over in the right corner. The win was the first major trophy for Connacht in their 131-year history.
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 The Sportsground.