Irish international wing Denis Hickey gave a glimpse of his talent last night after he scored a quick fire first-half hat-trick of tries at Donnybrook as Leinster beat Connacht 44-13 in a one sided A encounter. His three tries, along with a fifth minute try from flanker Pat Ward and another from full back Gordon D`Arcy, pushed Leinster into 25-8 lead by the break.

Thereafter, a barrage of substitutes meant that Leinster lost their fluidity and Connacht became more difficult to break down. But, this was nothing more than a training spin for a vastly superior Leinster side.

Scorers: Leinster A 44 (D Hickey 3 tries, G D'Arcy try, conversion, P Ward, C Scally, R O'Reilly, G Early try each, R Murphy conversion), Connacht A 13 (D Moran, M Kavanagh try each; O Cobbe penalty).