AS THE CROWD spilled out of Thomond Park and into the Limerick night, Munster boss Graham Rowntree found it difficult to pick the positives out of a contest where his team battled hard and played some good rugby, but ultimately came up short, again, against old rivals Leinster.
The visitors kept their 100% record this season intact thanks to a clinical four-minute spell in the second half where they crossed for two tries from close range, courtesy of Scott Penny and Dan Sheehan, while playing with a man in the sin-bin.
It saw them steal back the momentum from a Munster side who had threatened to pull clear of the URC league leaders – a penalty try early in the second half sending them eight points clear with a raucous Thomond Park behind them.
Ultimately it wasn’t to be for Munster as Leinster managed the end-game expertly, and after seeing his side walk away from a electrifying contest with a one-point loss, Rowntree cut a dejected figure in the Thomond Park media room.
“Without having a load of territory in that first half we were ahead, and then in the third quarter we worked hard for a penalty try, they had a guy in the bin and we concede two soft tries,” Rowntree said. “We can’t do that, we just can’t do that.
“We lost our way towards the end of our way there against a good team, whoever they seem to put on the field. There’s a lot of familiar faces in that Leinster, team, whoever they field, they’re a class team.
“The most disappointing thing for me was how we dealt with that time after the penalty try, conceding two soft tries.”
Even more frustrating for Rowntree, Munster had put a big focus on stopping Leinster’s close-range power plays in the days leading up to the game.
We spoke about it a lot, they have an armoury of quick-tap moves. We spoke about it, and previewed it in the week, and trained it, but we have to be better. In the white-hot heat of the battle we have to be better than that.
“We have to be better in every game, and particularly against a classy team like that. There are lots of positives, but when you lose a game like that you focus on the negatives.”
Leinster boss Leo Cullen was simply happy to see his side head back to Dublin with another win in the bag – that’s now nine from nine in the URC this season.
“It’s a pretty unorthodox type of win, isn’t it? But the guys showed great character out there, which is pleasing,” Cullen said.
“We’re eight points down at the start of the second half, lost a man to the bin, then to win that next 10 minutes by 14 points, when we accumulate most of our points, that’s really, really pleasing.
“And the last 10 minutes, reasonably controlled, playing the game in the right areas, even though it’s pretty chaotic if you see some of the breakdowns there where players are coming in from all angles, but we managed to get over the line.
“We’re pleased with a hard-earned four points.”
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