United Rugby Championship: Leinster 26 Munster 12
Lest we had forgotten, this landmark and historic occasion may have been another nod to the enduring appeal of this unrivalled provincial rivalry, but it was also very much Leinster’s home game. A whirlwind three-try blitz by the 15th minute underlined that this iconic ground very much belonged to them on the day.
Munster’s relative salvage act has to be put in the context of Leinster effectively winning the match decisively and clinically in that opening quarter.
The biggest point of difference between the sides was the respective conversion rate of entries into the 22 – Munster actually had nine line breaks to four but Leinster’s scramble and goal line defence have become more of a badge of honour than their attack.
As expected, their array of big carriers and tacklers – and this game only underlined RG Snyman has added to this mix – gave them the more potent power game.
Caelan Doris was imperious, with Tadhg Furlong, James Ryan and Josh van der Flier not far behind. Jamison Gibson-Park remains the heartbeat and while Ciaran Frawley had an armchair ride compared to Jack Crowley, he still impressed, as did Jamie Osborne and Garry Ringrose.
Plenty of men in red busted their guts too, no one putting in a bigger shift than Tadhg Beirne. The Munster captain’s frustration with referee Chris Busby was palpable and understandable.
Busby wasn’t helped by his assistants Peter Martin and Keane Davison, and his TMO Mark Patton. Between them, they awarded Hugo Keenan a ‘mark’ outside the Leinster 22; missed the knock-on by RG Snyman prior to Leinster’s second try by Doris; prematurely chalked off a well-worked try by Calvin Nash when Alex Nankivell’s pass would surely have been adjudged flat had Busby waited another second or two, and wrongly gave a lineout to Leinster in the build-up to Snyman’s bonus point try.
All of them were bad calls.
“I thought I’d scored to be honest,” said Nash of his ruled-out ‘try’. “When I saw that he said it was forward I couldn’t believe it. I thought it was a definitely a try but look, it is what it is.”
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Munster will also reflect ruefully on the HIAs which forced off both hookers, Niall Scannell and Diarmuid Barron, as well as some running repairs on Jeremy Loughman, and ultimately there were four, possibly five, HIAs.
Putting this in perspective, Graham Rowntree said: “We need to look after the players. I agree with it but the idea of these mouthguards with the sensors, it’s a sound idea. I’m very confident with all the HIA return to play protocols, I’m really confident in that.
“There was a huge amount today. That’s how the game is but we’ll manage that. I think it’s up to us as coaches, as provinces, as clubs, to get on with it, manage it, deal with it.”
It was during this “carnage” as Rowntree described it that Leinster struck three times after James Ryan nicked the first of two lineout steals and there was also a costly lineout malfunction in the build-up to Leinster’s second try.
But however much it was due to Snyman’s presence, Munster’s lineout was under pressure all day, and even after the latter’s departure Max Deegan picked off.
Nor did the bad calls seriously affect the outcome, for Leinster were unquestionably the superior force. That dramatic semi-final win two seasons ago helped Munster end their trophy drought and gave this rivalry some lifeblood, but it remains their only win over Leinster in the last 13 URC meetings.
After those early tries by James Lowe, Doris and Keenan effectively sealed the deal by the 15th minute, Leinster secured the bonus point with Snyman’s unstoppable finish with the last play of the half, and thereafter made a brave fist of salvaging pride.
In any case, disruptions are also par for the course, and certainly were in this contest. When Ryan Baird became the game’s fifth HIA less than two minutes after his introduction it meant that a prop, Thomas Clarkson, played in the backrow for the last half-hour with Deegan moving into the secondrow.
It didn’t depower or discommode Leinster in the slightest, although to their credit, Munster didn’t roll over and have their bellies tickled. They kept probing, kept offloading (making 14 to Leinster’s five), kept trying to find the edge and posed the Leinster defence plenty of problems.
But as they soothe their aching limbs before they head to Cape Town on Monday for their forthcoming games against the Stormers and the Sharks, Munster’s review will be the more painful too.
After Tom Farrell’s third clean break, Nankivell should probably have passed to Tom Ahern on his outside, for the gifted lock does a very passable impression of an unstoppable winger when finishing in corners. Casey, though he played very well generally, might also reflect ruefully on his utilisation of two advantage plays in the red zone, while after another big Farrell carry, Mike Haley also crowded out Jack Crowley.
Still, Munster did strike a few blows. A clever trick play of a lineout led to the industrious Seán O’Brien ghosting in off his wing to score from Coombes’ deft inside pass. They hung on like a dog with a bone in the final quarter before Conor Murray broke through off a lineout in the build-up to Haley scoring off a Coombes grubber – his second assist which had both vision and deftness.
It was only minor compensation in the overall scheme of things. Leinster shut the door and the visitors’ relative salvage act has to be put in contest. But considering where they stood after 16 minutes, Munster dug deep and came away with something.
SCORING SEQUENCE – 6 mins: Lowe try, Frawley con 7-0; 11: Doris try, Frawley con 14-0; 15: Keenan try, Frawley con 21-0; 35: O’Brien try 21-5; 40 (+1): Snyman try 26-5; Half-time 26-5; 66: Haley try, Crowley con 26-12.
LEINSTER: Hugo Keenan; Liam Turner, Garry Ringrose, Jamie Osborne, James Lowe; Ciarán Frawley, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Lee Barron, Tadhg Furlong; RG Snyman, James Ryan; Jack Conan, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt).
Replacements: Max Deegan for Conan (30 mins), Gus McCarthy for Barron (half-time), Ryan Baird for Snyman (50), Thomas Clarkson for Baird (52), Cian Healy for Furlong (65), Luke McGrath for Gibson-Park, Ross Byrne for Turner (both 69), Harry Byrne for Lowe (76).
MUNSTER: Mike Haley; Calvin Nash, Tom Farrell, Alex Nankivell, Seán O’Brien; Jack Crowley, Craig Casey; Jeremy Loughman, Niall Scannell, Stephen Archer; Jean Kleyn, Tadhg Beirne (capt); Jack O’Donoghue, John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes.
Replacements: Diarmuid Barron for Scannell (8-19 mins), John Ryan for Loughman (12-20, 52), Kieran Ryan for Barron (12) and for Ryan (75), Tom Ahern for Kleyn (50), Ruadhán Quinn for Coombes (55), Coombes for Hodnett (59-70), Conor Murray for Casey (60), Shay McCarthy for O’Brien (62), Tony Butler for Farrell (75).
Referee: Chris Busby (IRFU).
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