Sorry tale for Munster as Leinster a class above
Leinster’s Robbie Henshaw is tackled by Munster’s Andrew Conway during the Guinness PRO14 semi-final at the Aviva last night. Picture: Ramsey Cardy
Munster’s semi-final woes returned yet again as Leinster progressed to the Guinness PRO14 final for the third season in a row.
The two missed second-half penalties from JJ Hanrahan as Munster trailed 10-3 were the obvious deficiencies but the reality was that Johann van Graan’s side were second best in almost every aspect of this contest and Leinster worthy winners.
The defeat was a fifth consecutive last-four defeat for head coach van Graan and his squad having also lost consecutive European semis in the past two season but with their Heineken Champions Cup campaign done and dusted by the end of the pool stage, this exit brings an end to another frustrating and trophyless season for the Reds.
Yet again Munster succumbed to a more accurate, more composed and efficient Leinster side which will bid for a hat-trick of PRO14 titles back at the Aviva next Saturday, where they will face the winner of today’s Edinburgh-Ulster clash at Murrayfield with the added incentive of an unbeaten league season to complete thanks to this assured dismissal of their rival’s title credentials.
Munster had delivered a warning to the defending champions in the first game back from lockdown two weekends earlier, posing Leinster plenty of problems in the air, at the breakdown and at the lineout only to come up just short in a 27-25 regular-season defeat.
Yet from the moment Jordan Larmour rose to claim Conor Murray’s clearing kick from Leinster’s kick-off, it was clear Leo Cullen’s side had taken the lessons of the previous fortnight on board and learned them well.
Larmour had been second best in the air against Munster wing Andrew Conway on August 22 with many believing his place was in jeopardy but Cullen’s faith was more than repaid and that was just one facet of Leinster’s improvement. What was never in doubt was their ability eke points from every opportunity and last night as Munster failed to take their chances from entries into the opposition 22, Leinster were clinical as they took a 10-3 half-time lead, hooker Ronan Kelleher cancelling out a fifth-minute JJ Hanrahan penalty with a maul try after Keith Earls had spilled a catch over his shoulder form a Sexton crossfield kick, conceding a try in Munster’s left corner.
Once inside the 22, Leinster flicked the switch, nailed the lineout led immaculately by Devin Toner where two weeks ago in his absence it had floundered and Kelleher finished the drive.
Sexton converted and then added a penalty from close in next to the posts on the stroke of half-time as Leinster made another entry into the 22 pay dividends as blue pressure forced red indiscipline when Jack O’Donoghue strayed offside.
The second half was a similar, sorry story for Munster. They lost Andrew Conway five minutes after the interval to what appeared to be a head knock when tackling Robbie Henshaw who was in full flight at the time. But Larmour went the same way just a minute later as he scrambled for a loose ball having knocked on and was accidentally caught by a Munster knee.
Conway’s injury was the only wound that was not self-inflicted by his team, but though they started to make inroads, Munster’s probing was undone by their own hands, and boots, time and time again.
Hanrahan’s penalty misses off the tee in the 59th and 63rd minutes were the most flagrant but just as frustrating was the equally well-worked opportunities in and around the 22, as lineouts were fluffed or stolen, penalties conceded or passes knocked on.
Munster had restarted the season with such promise and have certainly made progress in terms of giving their attacking game some width allied to the one-two punch in midfield now provided by Damian de Allende and Chris Farrell but the twin losses just seven minutes into their first game back, when RG Snyman and Dave Kilcoyne both hobbled off injured, have proven costly, denying them two go-to ball-carrying threats that were sorely needed last night.
Leinster, on the other hand, just keep on trucking and whomever they face in next Saturday’s final must be considered firm favourites to lift the PRO14 trophy for a third year in a row. They finished the regular season 18 points clear of Conference A winners Edinburgh, 25 in front of Ulster and now a country mile ahead of Munster. They will take some catching.
: J Larmour (R O’Loughlin, 46); H Keenan, G Ringrose, R Henshaw, J Lowe; J Sexton - captain (R Byrne, 67), L McGrath (J Gibson-Park, 60); C Healy (E Byrne, 54), R Kelleher (S Cronin, 63), A Porter (M Bent, 63), D Toner, S Fardy (R Baird, 52), C Doris, W Connors (J van der Flier, 74), J Conan.
Yellow Card: J van der Flier 75mins
: S Daly; A Conway (R Scannell, 45), C Farrell, D de Allende, K Earls; JJ Hanrahan, C Murray (C Casey, 70); J Loughman (J Cronin, 57), N Scannell (K O’Byrne, 67), S Archer (J Ryan, 50); T Beirne (G Coombes, 77), B Holland (F Wycherley, 57); P O’Mahony - captain, J O’Donoghue (C Cloete, 50), CJ Stander.
: Andrew Brace (IRFU).
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