RUGBY/Munster 15 Leinster 16:MUNSTER'S NEED may have been the more acute but Leinster's performance on a raucous night was the better. In a high-quality game studded with many fine individual performances and few poor ones, there may have been only a point in it, but Leinster deserved to record their third successive win over their great domestic rivals and their first at the Munster fortress since 1995.
Leinster’s performance reaffirmed much of the good work done under Michael Cheika in the last five years and, in recent years, under defensive coach Kurt McQuilkin. Away from home, especially in a cauldron such as this, you have to roll with the punches and Leinster did that in the first quarter. Their indiscipline and failure to convert chances might have cost them dearly, but they retained their mental strength and composure at all times.
Munster, with 10 wins from 10 in all competitions at home this season, and 18 in-a-row in all, and with their need for the points more acute, threw all their fury and passion at Leinster from the off. Alan Quinlan was his usual self, and Jerry Flannery looked like a terrier who had been let off a leash. But there was a weariness about them too, or at any rate an inability to ask serious questions of the Leinster defence rather than try to batter their way through.
Of all the duels, the Ronan O’Gara-Jonathan Sexton head-to-head had been billed like a prize fight, and the home crowd eagerly jumped aboard. O’Gara often looked the more composed – well, he was virtually in his living room – and landed five kicks from five to three from five by Sexton, who had a mixed bag. Ultimately though, he was a major contributor too.
O’Gara drew first blood by charging down Sexton’s first punt, and he was turning away before his first 42-metre penalty bisected the posts. It soon became a mental test for Sexton when his restart failed to travel 10 metres – much to the crowd’s enjoyment, who were on his case thereafter.
After a Mick O’Driscoll steal, a bout of offloading by Flannery, Jean de Villiers and Doug Howlett had Munster on the front foot. Leinster’s line speed, communication and tackling were sound, but there was a costly turnover penalty against Nathan Hines, which Leo Cullen compounded by flapping Tomás O’Leary’s pass to O’Gara down one-handed. He was binned, and O’Gara nailed the penalty.
Leinster’s response was telling. Five hard carries off quick lineout ball from the impressive Devin Toner had them swiftly knocking on Munster’s door. Fergus McFadden ran strongly at Lifeimi Mafi and Stanley Wright at de Villiers. Donncha O’Callaghan chanced his arm by flapping a hand at Shane Jennings when the latter stepped in at scrumhalf. It was a stonewall yellow and Sexton tapped over the penalty.
A good take and then a strong carry by Howlett restored Munster’s initiative, and, when Girvan Dempsey blocked de Villiers’ run onto O’Leary’s grubber, O’Gara landed his third penalty.
Simmering tempers briefly boiled over when Jamie Heaslip took exception to Alan Quinlan knocking Girvan Dempsey over, by nailing Quinlan from behind, and soon O’Leary and Rob Kearney were having a go. Referee Romain Poite sensibly called for a time-out.
Leinster were emboldened, but, after lovely footwork to leave two men on their rears, D’Arcy should have linked with Fogarty and Dempsey instead of taking the tackle by Paul Warwick. Then Ian Dowling produced a try-saving tackle on Kearney.
Compensation came by way of a Fergus McFadden tap-over penalty, as Sexton was hobbling at the time, but that was undone when Reddan’s boxkick from the restart effectively put half his team offside and O’Gara restored Munster’s six-point lead.
Even so, Reddan’s pace off a scrum on the blindside gave Dempsey a run up the touchline, and Munster were indebted to de Villiers’ double tackle on D’Arcy and Fogarty.
When Sexton pushed a kickable penalty wide, it seemed their chance had gone, but his up-and-under caused pandemonium, and when Nacewa chipped ahead off the recycle the ball bounced between O’Leary and Howlett for Kearney to gather and score. With the last kick of the half Sexton landed a stunning touchline conversion to put Leinster in front.
Again, though, their discipline unhinged them upon the restart when Hines was binned for spearing Dowling. O’Gara’s penalty restored Munster’s lead.
Sexton missed a 38-metre penalty, but he was soon afforded a slightly easier chance to the left when O’Gara went in from the side. Again, there wasn’t quite uniform silence for Sexton, and some of the younger element will have to be taught the Munster way. More to the point, Sexton nailed it.
Leinster continued to control territory without threatening to force their advantage home, and Sexton missed a drop goal.
Munster needed a lift and, typically, Quinlan provided it by winning a turnover penalty.
On Munster went through the phases, Mafi making good ground, before he spilled it after a juggle by O’Gara. When Warwick attempted to run back Reddan’s kick, Nacewa nearly picked off an intercept try in this fixture’s endgame custom. De Villiers briefly threatened one of his game-breaking busts, but Nacewa was quickly onto Howlett from the offload.
Leinster will remind themselves that their last win preceded an opening Heineken Cup defeat to London Irish, and Munster will revert to backs-against-the-wall Heineken Cup mode next week.
But their problems look the greater, and after this it was their fans who needed a stiff drink.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 3 mins: O’Gara pen 3-0; 14: O’Gara pen 6-0; 18: Sexton pen 6-3; 22: O’Gara pen 9-3; 28: McFadden pen 9-6; 30: O’Gara pen 12-6; 40: Kearney try, Sexton con 12-13; (half-time 12-13); 51: O’Gara pen 15-13; 65: Sexton pen 15-16.
MUNSTER: P Warwick; D Howlett, L Mafi, J de Villiers, I Dowling; R O’Gara capt, T O’Leary; M Horan, J Flannery, J Hayes; D O’Callaghan, M O’Driscoll; A Quinlan, N Ronan, D Wallace. Replacements: S Deasy for Dowling (57 mins), D Fogarty for Flannery, T Buckley for Hayes (both 68 mins), J Coughlan for Ronan (69 mins), N Williams for Wallace (73 mins). Not used: P Stringer, T Gleeson. Sinbinned: O’Callaghan (18-28).
LEINSTER: R Kearney; G Dempsey, F McFadden, G D’Arcy, I Nacewa; J Sexton, E Reddan; S Wright, J Fogarty, CJ van der Linde, L Cullen (capt), D Toner, N Hines, S Jennings, J Heaslip. Replacements: C Healy for van der Linde (h-t), M O’Kelly for Toner (47 mins), S Berne for D’Arcy (64 mins), van der Linde for Wright (74 mins). Not used: B Jackman, Stephen Keogh, P O’Donohoe, E O’Malley. Sinbinned: Cullen (13-23), Hines (51-61).
Referee: R Poite (France).
