MAGNERS LEAGUE Leinster 21 Munster 12:EVEN THOUGH Munster would heartily disagree, not for the first time this season one came away from a Leinster victory over Munster thinking that, all in all, this was possibly the best result for all concerned. Leinster were always likely to win the Magners League anyway, but now look set on doing so in some style, having underlined their status as decisive champions-in-waiting with their most prized scalp of all, on their own terms and their own patch. This is the way to win leagues.
Victory over Edinburgh in Murrayfield will not push them over the finishing line, but given it was the scene of their most profound Euro disappointment, it would go some way toward completing redemption. Were Munster also to lose at home to the Ospreys next Saturday night in Cork, then Leinster would regain the crown they won at Munster's expense six seasons ago.
In some respects it would be preferable if their coronation was completed in front of another capacity RDS crowd against the Dragons on the first weekend in May. Alas, the greater likelihood is they will be mathematically confirmed as champions when Munster travel to Ulster on Tuesday, April 29th, 48 hours after their Heineken Cup semi-final against Saracens in Coventry. That would be no more than the IRFU and Celtic League deserve (if not Leinster) given that game's risible rescheduling.
A convincing league title ought to provide the platform to launch a stronger tilt at qualification from the European pool stages next season. Admittedly, their previous, sleeves-rolled-up win over Munster in Musgrave Park precipitated the back-to-back meetings with Edinburgh which effectively undid this season's Euro campaign.
Munster, though, responded to that defeat by beating Llanelli back-to-back in Europe, and this latest wound to their pride ought to provide a timely reminder what can happen if they even drop five or 10 per cent from the levels of concentration and precision shown a week before.
Injuries to Ronan O'Gara and Peter Stringer compounded the absence of David Wallace and Marcus Horan, and while contributory factors, even their combined presence for 80 minutes probably wouldn't have altered the outcome.
This utterly deserved 10th successive league win, and first "double" over Munster, underlined their new-found consistency and strength up front, not to mention the careful husbandry of their backline tyros as well as the enduring quality of Felipe Contepomi.
Though summer time is less than three weeks away, the snow-capped Dublin mountains were visible from the upper tier of the Anglesea Road stand as the rain swept down before and during the game. It was ever thus this season in the league, so the Leinster pack got down and dirty yet again. In every forward department, they bettered Munster. The late developing Tony Buckley is still learning his trade, all the more so at loosehead, and was given a tough time by the unsung Stanley Wright.
Leinster's scrum earned just three points as a tangible dividend, but it drew the first line in the sand.
Leo Cullen's organisation of the lineout was supreme, one athletic steal by Mick O'Driscoll apart, while Malcolm O'Kelly's aerial skills out of touch and at restarts were augmented by his ball-carrying. The movement up and down the line along with clever use of Jamie Heaslip and the accurate darts of Bernard Jackman emphatically withstood Munster's efforts, ensuring a steady stream of ball; while the technique and physicality of their maul yielded acres of ground as well as stopping Munster at source.
On the back of this, rarely has a Munster backrow been so utterly eclipsed. Clearly learning from the mistakes Gloucester made, Leinster committed numbers to the ruck, whether in defence or attack, where Keith Gleeson was omnipresent. It all contributed to the kind of rough ride which Stringer could have done without.
His confidence and assurance rising with each game since establishing himself in the Test arena, Heaslip gave another commanding, front-foot performance as well as putting in some big hits. Likewise Shane Jennings, whose workrate and clearing out reflected a fired-up but focused performance.
Collectively, Leinster won the collisions and, save for a couple of bursts by the dangerous Doug Howlett, were an unyielding blue line. Bookending the first half, Jennings and Jackman cleared Denis Leamy yards away from the first ruck to set the tone while a double hit by Heaslip and Wright turned Leamy in the tackle to earn a penalty for not releasing, which Contepomi struck sweetly from almost half-way for a 12-6 interval lead.
They were helped on their way by Munster's ill-discipline, especially Leamy and Donncha O'Callaghan, who seemed too pumped up for their own good. In trying to unsettle Leinster, they unsettled themselves more, and a rash of four penalties in the first six minutes enabled Contepomi to kick Leinster six points ahead.
Chris White was a little too pernickety for the game's good, and the yellow card for Rua Tupoki for a high, one-armed tackle on the jinking Luke Fitzgerald looked crowd-influenced at a time when Leinster's voices were well in the ascendancy. But a 15-10 penalty count underlined Leinster's greater composure.
With Christian Warner running the show and selflessly taking on static ball if needs be in his inimitable style, and Contepomi probing in midfield, Johnny Sexton continued his development with an assured all-round performance. Never shy of taking some good hard lines himself to test out the Munster defence, fittingly he delivered the coup de grace with an unerring drop goal after being set up by the pack.
SCORING SEQUENCE:3 mins: Contepomi pen 3-0; 6: Contepomi pen 6-0; 19: Contepomi pen 9-0; 24: O'Gara pen 9-3; 29: O'Gara pen 9-6; 40: Contepomi pen 12-6; (half-time 12-6); 43: Warwick pen 12-9; 48: Contepomi pen 15-9; 59: Warwick pen 15-12; 70: Contepomi pen 18-12; 78: Sexton drop goal 21-12.
LEINSTER:G Dempsey; S Horgan, L Fitzgerald, F Contepomi, R Kearney; J Sexton, C Whitaker; O le Roux, B Jackman, S Wright, L Cullen (capt), M O'Kelly, S Jennings, K Gleeson, J Heaslip. Replacements: B Blaney for Jackman (80 mins), T Hogan for O'Kelly, S Keogh for Gleeson (both 85 mins). Not used: S Knoop, C Keane, E O'Malley, G Brown.
MUNSTER:D Hurley; D Howlett, L Mafi, R Tupoki, I Dowling; R O'Gara (capt), P Stringer; T Buckley, J Flannery, J Hayes, D O'Callaghan, M O'Driscoll, A Quinlan, D Leamy, A Foley.
Replacements:P Warwick for O'Gara (half-time), T O'Leary for Hurley (43-55 mins) and for Stringer (55 mins), P O'Connell for O'Callaghan (55 mins), F Sheahan for Flannery (67 mins), N Ronan for Foley (70 mins), F Pucciariello for Buckley (74 mins). Not used: K Lewis. Sinbinned: Tupoki (69-79 mins).
Referee:C White (England).
