Foley try books final for Munster

Leinster 17 Munster 23

Munster captain Anthony Foley booked a Celtic Cup final send-off for coach Alan Gaffney as he plundered a last-gasp try for a climatic 23-17 semi-final win over Leinster at Lansdowne Road.

Gaffney’s Celtic League runners-up will return to the home of Irish rugby to face the Scarlets on Saturday after the double whammy of fly-half David Holwell’s sending-off and Foley’s late score under the posts left Leinster shell-shocked.

Welsh referee Nigel Whitehouse and touch judge Richard Hughes had a little too much influence for Leinster’s liking.

The former harshly sin-binned Shane Horgan in the first half, and Hughes swung the tie in Munster’s favour on 75 minutes when he spotted an apparent knee-drop by Holwell on Peter Stringer’s head.

Television replays showed Holwell’s ruck challenge to be hard but fair, yet with the New Zealander off the pitch, Leinster’s 17-16 lead looked increasingly shaky.

Munster too were down to 14 men at that stage. Flanker Alan Quinlan had been binned for a clear punch on Leinster’s Leicester-bound openside Shane Jennings. Foley though, in his 140th game in Munster red, had the final word.

Wind-assisted Leinster began the game with a six-point buffer after Holwell had sliced over two lengthy penalties inside seven minutes.

Munster wasted little time in replying. Foley’s quick tap set up field position near the Leinster posts and following an initial Paul Burke snipe, prop Horan picked and drove over, punishing poor fringe defence from Malcolm O’Kelly.

Burke converted for the lead. Holwell again showed his kicking prowess from 49 metres when his 12th-minute penalty bounced up and over off the Munster crossbar.

He notched his fourth kick on the half-hour before Horgan was binned for a ruck offence.

Leinster need not have worried – they shipped a Burke penalty on 33 minutes but defiant defence saw them hold on for a 12-10 lead at the break.

Two neat Burke penalties saw Munster regain that lead. However the tie turned in Leinster’s favour on 52 minutes when Holwell linked with O’Driscoll to send full-back Girvan Dempsey haring in at the right corner.

Dempsey’s third try in three games went unconverted at 17-16. And as is their wont, never-say-die Munster came back and Foley’s 79th-minute try meant retiring Leinster back row Victor Costello’s 11-year career ended in defeat.