Johnny Sexton scores everything for Leinster, as Munster left dejected

LEINSTER 16 MUNSTER 13

Johnny Sexton scored all of Leinster's points as they went top of the Pro12 with a 16-13 derby win over Munster at the Aviva Stadium.

A week on from losing to Connacht, Leo Cullen's men joined the westerners at the summit, and the Irish pair hold home advantage in the play-off race with three rounds to go.

In front of a 43,108 attendance, Sexton's timely touchdown just before half-time ended Leinster's 260-minute try drought in the league, and left Munster trailing 10-6.

Leinster try scorer Johnny Sexton is congratulated by teammates. Picture: INPHO

Young fly-half Johnny Holland, who started instead of Ian Keatley, had twice kicked the visitors in front before that, and he brilliantly converted his own 47th-minute try for a 13-10 turnaround.

But a couple of assured place-kicks from Sexton, with Keatley missing his only attempt of the night, had Leinster on the cusp of their first season's double over Munster since 2012/13.

They had to survive a frenetic late assault on their try-line, though, with Cian Healy in the sin-bin. Mike Sherry went closest for the men in red but Jamie Heaslip and Ben Te'o typified a Leinster defence that would not yield.

Munster got off the mark in the 13th minute, Holland slotting over a straightforward penalty after Simon Zebo had knocked on a flat pass from Conor Murray just a few metres out.

Lineout issues spoiled Leinster's attempts to respond, with Munster able to clear the danger in their 22 following an excellent steal by the lively Tommy O'Donnell.

Sexton opened Leinster's account off the kicking tee with 27 minutes gone, punishing a bloodied Donncha Ryan for not rolling away before the Munster lock was forced off.

A classy break from Rory Scannell preceded Holland's second successful penalty, but Ryan's replacement, Robin Copeland, saw yellow soon after for Munster's third maul offence in their 22.

Leinster took immediate advantage, pressing from a lineout drive before man-of-the-match Sexton got outside Francis Saili to raid in from close range, bouncing off the left hand post on the way. The conversion put four points between the sides.

However, Munster piled forward on the resumption, their pick and goes proving very effective before Holland took advantage of a missed tackle from Sean Cronin to score out wide on the left.

The Cork youngster's pinpoint conversion was cancelled out by Sexton's second successful penalty, two minutes later, as Leinster starlet Garry Ringrose began to make inroads in midfield.

Following Holland's departure near the hour mark, Keatley was wide with his one and only shot at the posts and Sexton soon sent Leinster back in front, rewarding Rhys Ruddock's accurate foraging at the breakdown.

Into the closing stages, Munster came with wave after wave of attack. Luke McGrath lifted the pressure by winning a ruck penalty for the hosts, but fellow replacement Healy's no-arms tackle on Dave Kilcoyne left them down to 14 men for the final four minutes.

Munster's well-drilled maul drew a kickable penalty and they went for broke by going to touch, but Heaslip's vital tackle on Sherry, followed by a Te'o hit that forced a knock-on, saw Leinster prevail in breathless fashion.

Watch Leo Cullen's post-match presser to see what the head coach had to say after the win over Munster. #LEINvMUNhttps://t.co/Q40ExHaJ62

— Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby) April 2, 2016

LEINSTER v MUNSTER 60 Seconds

By Simon Lewis

Key moment: Munster were quick to admit they left victory behind them and their failure to score in the closing moments once Leinster prop Cian Healy had been sin-binned with four minutes to go will keep them awake at nights. Forwards went round the corner instead of spotting an overlap out wide and the decision to tap and go for a try by Dave Kilcoyne proved another 'what might have been' moment.

Talking point: Kilcoyne's tap penalty in front of the Leinster line with less than 20 seconds remaining seems rash given Munster failed to get the winning try from it but a kicked penalty off the tee from short range could have earned the draw and that could prove extremely costly if Munster miss out on Champions Cup qualification by a point at the end of the season.

Key man: Johnny Sexton picked up for Leinster where he left off with Ireland at the end of the Six Nations, a fly-half in total command whether the ball is in hand or on the end of his boot, and while opposite number Johnny Holland also scored his team's only try, the more experienced Sexton was the deserving man of the match with a 78-minute masterclass.

Ref watch: Welsh official Ian Davies managed to annoy both sides although neither coach had any complaints with yellow card he issued to each team. Simon Zebo could have joined Robin Copeland in the bin for what looked a blatant swatting into touch of the ball without any attempt to gather, Davies merely blowing for half time, while Munster will point to numerous Leinster penalties that went unpunished.

Penalties conceded: Leinster 9 Munster 11

Injuries: Donnacha Ryan suffered a concussion in the first half and will need to progress through the return to play protocols while Andrew Conway limped off following an aerial collision and Simon Zebo suffered a dead leg before a nasty land appeared to leave him winded. None of Leinster's substitutions appeared to be injury related although there were several bumps and bruises following a physical game.

Next up: An unwanted weekend off awaits these two teams next week as they sit out the Champions Cup quarter-finals. The derby intensity continues soon after though as Munster travel to Galway to play Connacht at the Sportsground on Saturday, April 16, looking to avoid home and away defeats to Pat Lam's side. Leinster, meanwhile, host Edinburgh at the RDS the previous night.