Leinster stun holders Munster to set up Interpros final rematch in Cork
Leinster players, from left, Aoife Wafer, Eimear Corri and Sarah Delaney celebrate after their side's victory in the Vodafone Women’s Interprovincial Championship match between Leinster and Munster at Energia Park in Dublin. Photo by Piaras Ó MÃdheach/Sportsfile
Leinster coach Tania Rosser is thrilled at the way her side responded to first round defeat by Connacht, upsetting holders Munster on Saturday to book a rematch in the final of the competition at Musgrave Park next Saturday.Â
Two tries in each half propelled Leinster into next Saturday's decider following their first win over defending champions Munster since 2019.
Linda Djougang (49) and Ruth Campbell (58) produced key scores to steer Rosser's side to a 26-19 bonus point victory at Energia Park. The result means the Blues join Munster on 10 points at the top of the table, and they will meet each other again in the Cork decider.
Connacht, who had stung Leinster with an 18-17 first round defeat, missed out on a place in the final, despite finishing the round robin stage with a 29-24 bonus point success against Ulster.
Leinster and Munster were locked level on 12 points apiece at half-time after star Munster forwards Maeve Óg O'Leary and Dorothy Wall both crossed, sandwiching Leinster tries from Lisa Callan and Aimee Clarke.
The hosts dug deep in the absence of yellow-carded lock Campbell, restoring their lead through the powerful Djougang before the returning Campbell finished off a terrific break from Vodafone player-of-the-match Aoife Dalton. Dannah O'Brien added two important conversions.
Munster captain Wall capitalised on Molly Boyne's sin-binning to complete her brace, but Leinster hung on, to Rosser's relief.
Rosser said: "I’m delighted. I asked the girls to come out and be physical and match them up front and stay controlled and they did that. Difficult when you’ve only got 14 players on the pitch for 20 minutes. But they pulled it out and I couldn’t ask for much more from them.
"I was thinking back to the Connacht match when we were two tries up and I was thinking 'here we go again', but the girls stuck to the systems. There were a few dodgy decision-making calls from our girls but I’m delighted they stuck it right out to the end."
Niamh Briggs' charges will still be confident of winning their third successive Interpro title at their Musgrave Park fortress next week. But Rosser will travel with more than hope after this victory.
"I can’t wait, these girls are ready for it. We set out to get into the finals after the Connacht match. We said we weren’t out. We could have put our heads in the ground and not performed. But we’re there now, and we’re looking forward to it and I hope we get a lot of support down there."
A fascinating breakdown battle developed early on in Donnybrook, with young centre Dalton winning a turnover before Deirbhile Nic a Bháird marched Munster forward with a well-won penalty. In between, Leinster captain Hannah O'Connor was short with a penalty attempt.
A monster maul showed the power of the visitors' pack, and despite Leinster turning over their opponents' second lineout drive, it was Munster who took the lead via set-piece platform in the ninth minute.
Nikki Caughey went too high when trying to tackle O'Leary who handed her off to raid straight in under the posts. Kate Flannery's right boot turned it into a full seven-pointer.
A couple of determined runs from Eimear Corri and Djougang got the Leinster attack firing, and hooker Callan's nicely-timed pass had Anna Doyle scooting down the left wing on her seasonal debut.
The home side's patient build-up play through a number of phases was rewarded when Callan used her upper body strength, and the support of Corri, to crash over past Muirne Wall just to the left of the posts. O'Connor levelled with the extras.
The Blues then attacked the blindside off a 19th-minute scrum, releasing Leah Tarpey through a gap but Muirne Wall and Stephanie Carroll combined to force Clarke into touch.
Clarke was not to be denied a second time, as Djougang used Katie Whelan's snipe to invite Corri forward past halfway. The rangy lock beat the first defender again and offloaded for Clarke to outpace Jane Clohessy and bounce up out of Aoife Corey's attempted tackle to reach out for the line.
After O'Connor's missed conversion, Campbell and O'Leary both showed their breakdown skills before the Leinster skipper pinched a lineout. Yet, when Munster got their set piece right within striking distance, the outcome was a second try that squared things up.
Second row Wall stretched out for the line from the middle of a 33rd-minute maul that was greatly enhanced by the newly-introduced EilÃs Cahill. Flannery's conversion attempt went narrowly wide on the near right side.
Leinster had to absorb plenty of pressure before the welcome sound of referee Rob McGreer's half-time whistle. He had sin-binned Campbell for what was deemed a trip on the advancing Muirne Wall, yet Munster's subsequent maul was held up.
Replacement out-half O'Brien's connection with the goal-line drop-out was too good and it went straight into touch, but O'Connor disrupted Munster's next lineout and O'Brien's defensive impact at a last-minute ruck forced a crucial knock-on.
Leinster's defence stood up to the task again on the restart, and once they were back to their full complement, they punished a Corey knock-on in brilliant fashion. Whelan went close off a scrum before Ireland prop Djougang - backed up by O'Connor - drove in low to make the line.
O'Brien's sweetly-struck conversion edged inside the far left upright, giving the 2018 and 2019 champions a hard-earned 19-12 lead. As the rain came down, they prevented Munster from responding with some good scramble defence and more disruption at maul time.
Indeed, Leinster pushed two converted scores clear by the hour mark. Dalton battled her way through contact, emerging with a cracking line break. She had the long-striding Campbell up in support to finish off beside the posts, with O'Brien also converting.
Munster were far from finished, though, as all-action number 8 Nic a Bháird lifted them again with her carrying and energy. With Leinster's discipline proving an issue and Boyne slow to roll away, Dorothy Wall capitalised on the yellow to get past Campbell and double her tally.
Replacement Nicole Cronin split the posts with the conversion, pulling it back to a seven-point deficit. Both teams knew what was on the line and really went for it, with Munster fighting to extend their unbeaten four-year run in the Interpros to ten matches.
Entering the closing stages, Clarke matched an Ellen Boylan break with a fine turnover, and Clodagh O'Halloran stole a Leinster lineout. The visitors did create a couple of fast-paced attacks, only for Sarah Delaney to bring down Flannery and it was Doyle who grounded Carroll with a textbook try-saving tackle out wide.
That allowed Leinster to come through Boyne's sin-binning without leaking another score, and O'Brien ate up the seconds with a penalty miss at the very end of a confidence-boosting performance from O'Connor and her team-mates.
Tries: Lisa Callan, Aimee Clarke, Linda Djougang, Ruth Campbell; Cons: Hannah O'Connor, Dannah O'Brien 2Â
Tries: Maeve Óg O'Leary, Dorothy Wall 2; Cons: Kate Flannery, Nicole Cronin Ht: Leinster 12 Munster 12
Natasja Behan; Aimee Clarke, Aoife Dalton, Leah Tarpey, Anna Doyle; Nikki Caughey, Katie Whelan; Linda Djougang, Lisa Callan, Christy Haney, Ruth Campbell, Eimear Corri, Aoife Wafer, Molly Boyne, Hannah O’Connor (capt).
Dannah O'Brien for Caughey (36 mins), Sarah Delaney for Callan (48), Aoife Moore for Djougang, Elise O'Byrne-White for Behan (both 65), Ailsa Hughes for Whelan (69), Whelan for Clarke (76), Sene Taiti-Fanene for Tarpey (79). Not used: Caoimhe Molloy, Katelynn Doran.
Aoife Corey; Ellen Boylan, Alana McInerney, Stephanie Nunan, Stephanie Carroll; Kate Flannery, Muirne Wall; RóisÃn Ormond, Ciara Farrell, Fiona Reidy, Dorothy Wall (capt), Claire Bennett, Jane Clohessy, Maeve Óg O'Leary, Deirbhile Nic a Bháird.
EilÃs Cahill for Reidy (30 mins), Clodagh O'Halloran for Bennett, Chloe Pearse for Clohessy (both half-time), Nicole Cronin for Flannery (51), Flannery for Nunan (53), Beth Buttimer for Farrell, Clohessy for O'Leary (both 67), Gillian Coombes for D Wall (67), Abbie Salter-Townshend for M Wall, Aoibhe O'Flynn for Boylan (both 71), Reidy for Ormond (72).
Rob McGreer (IRFU)
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
