Leinster secure fifth consecutive Thomond win over Munster
WIN SECURED: Leinster’s Harry Byrne kicks a penalty with the last kick of the game. Pic: ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne
Leinster made it five wins in a row in Limerick as they returned to the top of the URC table with a hard-fought and tryless victory in their derby clash with Munster at Thomond Park on Tuesday night.
Roared on by a fired-up, sell-out St Stephen’s night crowd despite the rain that fell throughout the evening, the URC champions failed to end a losing streak to their neighbours on home soil that dates back to December 2018 as Leo Cullen’s men made it a league double for the season over their southern neighbours.
Munster were coming off a disappointing opening two rounds of their Champions Cup pool campaign, when they drew at home with Bayonne and lost at Exeter Chiefs but their hoped-for rebound failed to materialise as Harry Byrne edged his goal-kicking contest with Jack Crowley three to one in terrible conditions.
Munster head coach Graham Rowntree had handed a first start to new tighthead prop Oli Jager following his November move from New Zealand’s Crusaders in a forward pack also boosted by returns for Ireland loosehead prop Dave Kilcoyne and academy lock Edwin Edogbo, though Tadhg Beirne and Conor Murray were absent under IRFU player welfare guidelines.
Leinster, much changed from their Champions Cup back-to-back pool wins over La Rochelle and Sale Sharks and more affected by the resting of Ireland frontliners under those welfare protocols, suffered a further blow when Test-starting scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park was withdrawn before kick-off. Luke McGrath was promoted from the bench to the starting line-up for his 198th appearance in blue, a week after his comeback from injury.
The conditions made for an attritional encounter, lots of penalties and plenty of scrums, Jager and Leinster loosehead Andrew Porter in particular enjoying a ding-dong battle, though Munster lost captain and hooker Diarmuid Barron to injury immediately after the first set-piece while Kilcoyne was withdrawn on 19 minutes for a Head Injury Assessment from which he did not return.
Leinster were 6-0 up by that stage, Harry Byrne kicking them into a first-minute lead from a penalty awarded at the first ruck after Jack O’Donoghue had caught the visiting fly-half’s kick-off and found contact, Barron going off his feet.
No.8 O’Donoghue was directly involved in the second Leinster penalty, not releasing under the attention of Porter and opposite number Jack Conan with Byrne again slotting the ball comfortably between the posts on 16 minutes.
Leinster were enjoying the lion’s share of possession in that first period, yet failed to make further inroads on the scoreboard as Munster defended determinedly, full-back Simon Zebo making a last-ditch turnover tackle on McGrath in one corner and then a collective effect to repel a Leinster driving maul from five metres out.
Yet though Munster dug themselves another hole when Craig Casey was sin-binned for a dangerous tip tackle on Jordan Larmour on the half-hour, the home side still kept Leinster’s lead to 6-0 to see out the opening half very much in the contest.
With the rain still driving as the second half kicked off, Munster were restored to 15 players with the return of Casey from his yellow card and the home side started strongly, quickly earning a penalty within range of the posts, only for Crowley to send his shot just wide of the upright.
There was another setback for the home side when Edogbo went down out of contact, his night ending on a stretcher cart after 49 minutes, the lock replaced by Brian Gleeson. Munster won a scrum penalty soon after through Jager, however, and Crowley made no mistake from just left of the posts to leave his side three points back at 3-6.
Back came Leinster and again Munster’s defence held firm, Tom Ahern effecting the turnover penalty on the five-metre line as the visitors pressured with replacement forward Ryan Baird not releasing.
Yet with the penalty count racking up with the error count Leinster soon had another chance to extend their lead, though Byrne missed successive kicks from the tee from either side of the posts as the game moved into its final quarter.
Munster had the next opportunity to strike, Gavin Coombes winning a ruck penalty as Ciaran Frawley failed to release and Crowley’s long kick found the right corner only for the resulting lineout to go to ground, slipping through Ahern’s fingers and Michael Ala’alatoa snaffling the ball off the deck to relieve the pressure on the Leinster line.
The arm wrestle continued but in the wrong areas for Munster to gain scoreboard parity as the clock edged towards 80 minutes and their frustration was compounded on 75 minutes when the Leinster pack, having finally relieved starting props Porter and Ala’alatoa of their duties, steamrollered their way to penalty within sight of the home 22.
Turning down points from the kicking tee, Leinster turned the screw again, working a ruck penalty on the five-metre line and seeing off Munster replacement prop Jeremy Loughman to the sin bin in the process, bringing Jager back into the fray on the loosehead side as wing Calvin Nash was sacrificed and the home side played out the dying minutes just as they had at the end of the opening period, with 14 men.
The Leinster scrum earned another penalty, in front of the posts, and Byrne this time made no mistake, dispatching his close-range kick to end the game and consign Munster to defeat.
Munster will go back on road for their next URC fixture, a visit to interprovincial rivals Connacht on New Year’s Day while Leinster return home to Dublin later on the same day to welcome Ulster to the RDS.
: S Zebo; C Nash (O Jager, 78 - YC), A Frisch, A Nankivell (S O’Brien, 71), S Daly; J Crowley, C Casey (P Patterson, 60); D Kilcoyne (J Loughman, 19-29 HIA), D Barron – captain (E Clarke, 7), O Jager (S Archer, 65); E Edogbo (B Gleeson, 49), G Coombes; T Ahern, J Hodnett (A Kendellen, 70), J O’Donoghue.
T Butler Yellow card: C Casey 30-40, J Loughman 78
H Keenan; J Larmour, G Ringrose – captain, C Frawley, R Russell; H Byrne, L McGrath; A Porter (E Byrne, 75), R Kelleher (D Sheehan, 58), M Ala’alatoa (T Clarkson, 75); R Molony (J Jenkins, 58), J McCarthy; M Deegan (R Baird, 49), S Penny (W Connors, 66), J Conan.
: B Murphy, L Turner.
: Andrew Brace (IRFU)
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