Munster 26
Leinster 17
Ryan Bailey reports from Thomond Park
IT PROMISED FIREWORKS, and boy did it deliver.
Fiery, frenetic and full-blooded in front of a febrile and passionate crowd, Munster and Leinster traded blows during a tempestuous and compelling inter-pro, but it was the southern province who channelled their aggression into a match-winning performance.
On the flip side, Leinster paid for a horribly ill-disciplined first-half showing as they lost two players to yellow cards inside the opening 30 minutes, and then had James Lowe sent off for a dangerous challenge which upended Andrew Conway in full flight.
The series of first-half flash points — which firmly tested Frank Murphy’s officiating — only allowed Munster seize control of the contest, after they had struck first blood through Chris Cloete’s close-range score in this near corner.
Joey Carbery kicked 16 points against his former side and although 14-man Leinster refused to surrender as they came back into it through James Tracy’s maul try, Keith Earls’ intercept in the 71st minute settled the tie as Munster sealed a well-deserved, and much-needed, December derby victory.
It ends Leinster’s recent supremacy in this fixture and marks Johann van Graan’s side’s first victory over their eastern rivals since St Stephen’s Day 2016, while also extending their winning run at home to 16 outings.
They were full value for it here, too. While Leinster lost their heads during the first period, Munster kept their composure to eke out a winning advantage on the scoreboard and although surrendering large tracts of possession and territory, got over the line with plenty left to spare.
The forwards were immense, not least man of the match Tadhg Beirne as he showed all his worth on both sides of the ball and around the park to reinforce his credentials to Joe Schmidt ahead of the Six Nations in the injury absence of Ulster’s Iain Henderson.
There were standout shifts from captain CJ Stander, who made 16 tackles, Jean Kleyn and young flanker Fineen Wycherley, who got through Trojan work after setting the tone with an early hit on Johnny Sexton.
As for Leinster, they will be bitterly disappointed with their lack of control in the face of a fraught atmosphere, as Cian Healy and Tadhg Furlong were both sent to the bin and then Lowe was given his marching orders by Murphy.
The second-half response from Leo Cullen’s side was admirable, but they left themselves with too much to do despite Tracy’s score bringing them back within striking distance, before Earls sealed the deal to inflict a first defeat on Leinster in eight outings in all competitions.
Munster’s need was greater and their season gets the lift it needed after back-to-back away defeats, as van Graan’s side move back into second in Conference A of the Pro14, and the celebrations at full-time — both from the stands and players — speaks volumes of what this result means.
It didn’t take long for tensions to flare, as Leinster started with trademark intensity in attack despite a late reshuffle forced by Dave Kearney — the luckless winger visibly frustrated as he headed down the tunnel — pulling up in the warm-up.
Noel Reid was promoted off the bench to partner Garry Ringrose in midfield, with Rory O’Loughlin shifting to the right wing, and it was Leinster’s centre pairing who created the first line break of the game.
The visitors pulled Munster one way and then the other, but the red shirts responded in kind and Wycherley came aggressively off the line to hit Sexton as the Leinster captain popped back inside.
Referee Murphy — the former Munster scrum-half — deemed the tackle to be ‘borderline late’ in his subsequent video recourse with the TMO, and the penalty went against Leinster for Sexton’s retaliation as he swung an arm and grabbed the blindside’s scrum cap.
Van Graan’s side had repelled Leinster’s thunderous opening salvo, and they struck first on the scoreboard at the other end after a rollicking first 10 minutes in front of a capacity crowd of over 26,000.
Cloete’s try was engineered and finished by the forwards in this near corner, but the source of the score came from a perfectly-executed set-piece move from Munster, as Ringrose was deceived by the pass out the back and Earls went skating through midfield.
The winger was hauled down inside the 22 by three covering tacklers, but there was plenty of support in tow and a couple of phases later, Carbery looked to change the point of attack with a chip left for Cloete, who was clothes-lined late by Scott Fardy.
Carbery kicked for the corner, and the rolling maul did the rest for a textbook Munster try, as they hammered their way towards the whitewash — Earls and Murray lent their weight to the effort — and the South African flanker was on hand to fall over the line.
The fiery start to proceedings continued apace from the restart, as another set of handbags ensued when Healy — on the occasion of his 200th appearance for the eastern province — caught Murray high as the scrum-half looked to manufacture space for the clearing kick, an indiscretion which saw the prop sent to the bin for 10 minutes.
Sexton — playing like a man possessed out there — found Lowe on the left and when he moved it inside for Jordan Larmour, the fullback’s dancing feet saw Murray mistime his tackle fractionally and that prompted more afters on the far side.
Sexton reintroduced himself to Carbery, Lowe took a swing at Murray, Conway hit back at Lowe and then a mass melee developed on the deck for good measure. It forced Murphy to have a quiet word with the captains to warn their troops that enough was enough. As if.
Anyway, after all that, a Leinster penalty for Murray’s high hit and when the visitors edged their way up the line, Munster were pinged for coming in at the side and Sexton opted for the posts to get his side on the board after 22 minutes.
But no sooner was Healy back on and Leinster restored to their full complement were the defending Pro14 and European champions on the wrong side of the law again, this time Furlong entering the ruck, not wrapping his arms and catching Cloete’s head with his shoulder.
Murphy deemed that there was ‘no intent’ from Furlong and the punishment was only a penalty and a yellow, but Cloete was unable to continue as he was stretchered off, with Arno Botha introduced to the Munster back row.
It only got worse for Leinster. A minute later, TMO Simon McDowell was reviewing another incident as Lowe upended Conway under a steepling McGrath box-kick and the officials — whether there was intent or not — had no choice but to send the Kiwi winger off.
Tetchy and scrappy, but the visitors — having received just one yellow card in the Pro14 this season hitherto — had completely lost the plot and paid the ultimate penalty.
With a two-man advantage, Munster looked to strike but after punching holes in the blue defence, Larmour denied a try in this same corner with a well-read intercept, only for play to be brought back for a penalty on the 10-metre line, which Carbery converted for a 10-3 lead.
Michael Bent was introduced as front row cover for Furlong after Sexton drilled the restart into the Munster in-goal area, and the replacement prop conceded Leinster’s 10th penalty of an ill-disciplined first stanza, with Carbery nailing the long-range effort to extend the hosts’ lead at the break.
The 22-year-old out-half made no mistake from the tee on the restart after Josh van der Flier was harshly penalised for not rolling away, but Leinster — like all champion sides — rebounded strongly.
Cullen’s pack seized the initiative, making hard yards in contact and engineering the platform for a powerful and compact rolling maul to bludgeon their way over after a series of Munster infringements.
Tracy was the man to get it down for a TMO-awarded score and when Sexton tacked on the extras, Leinster moved back to within six points of their hosts and the pockets of blue flags began to find their voice inside Thomond.
The Leinster defence then shut the door on Earls and when Reid’s deft slip ball for Larmour sent the 21-year-old dancing his way through the red wall, it was the visitors’ turn to probe in opposition territory.
Mike Haley, however, stood firm and made an important covering tackle, before Munster won a series of big moments.
Firstly, Tracy’s lineout was overcooked and Murray gathered to relieve the try-line pressure and then the pack, with Stephen Archer on for John Ryan, won a scrum penalty on halfway as The Fields reverberated around this iconic venue.
Carbery’s right boot gave Munster further breathing space after Jack Conan was caught offside, and Cullen responded by making a raft of changes, including the introduction of Ciaran Frawley for Sexton, who instantly applied ice to his knee on the bench.
Leinster searched for a route back into the game but after turning down a kickable penalty to reduce the deficit to six points, Frawley’s weak pass to Reid was read by Earls and there was no catching the winger as he scorched clear from 70 yards.
Game over, deal done, the roof off Thomond.
There was just enough time for Max Deegan to squeeze over for a consolation score but it mattered little, for this was Munster’s night as they recorded a precious win, and with it the points and bragging rights.
Munster scorers:
Tries: Chris Cloete, Keith Earls.
Conversions: Joey Carbery [1 from 1], Tyler Bleyendaal [1 from 1].
Penalties: Joey Carbery [4 from 4].
Leinster scorers:
Tries: James Tracy, Max Deegan.
Conversions: Johnny Sexton [1 from 1], Ciaran Frawley [1 from 1].
Penalties: Johnny Sexton [1 from 1].
MUNSTER: 15. Mike Haley, 14. Andrew Conway, 13. Dan Goggin (Darren Sweetnam 65′), 12. Rory Scannell, 11. Keith Earls, 10. Joey Carbery (Tyler Bleyendaal 70′), 9. Conor Murray (Alby Mathewson 73′); 1. Dave Kilcoyne (Jeremy Loughman 70′), 2. Niall Scannell (Kevin O’Byrne 75′), 3. John Ryan (Stephen Archer 59′), 4. Jean Kleyn (Billy Holland 64′), 5. Tadhg Beirne, 6. Fineen Wycherley, 7. Chris Cloete (Arno Botha 30′), 8. CJ Stander (captain).
LEINSTER: 15. Jordan Larmour, 14. Rory O’Loughlin, 13. Garry Ringrose (Conor O’Brien 68′), 12. Noel Reid, 11. James Lowe, 10. Johnny Sexton (captain) (Ciaran Frawley 60′), 9. Luke McGrath (Hugh O’Sullivan 73′); 1. Cian Healy (Peter Dooley 64′), 2. James Tracy (Bryan Byrne 64′), 3. Tadhg Furlong (Michael Bent 68′), 4. Scott Fardy, 5. James Ryan (Ross Molony 73′), 6. Rhys Ruddock (Max Deegan 64′), 7. Josh van der Flier, 8. Jack Conan.
Referee: Frank Murphy [IRFU].
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