Apart from an early Leinster surge in which Graham Shaw lashed a shot against a post, Munster generated the greater momentum at Garryduff on Saturday to earn their 2-1 victory in the second match of the interprovincial championship.

So Munster, having gained a 1-1 draw with Ulster, go into pole position while Leinster will need the incisiveness of, say, Gordon Elliott (or indeed Colin Stewart) against Ulster at Blaris next Sunday if they are to keep a full-bodied interest in retaining the title when the championship is completed in Dublin on the weekend of February 22nd-24th.

While the revamped Leinster side resisted to the best of their ability, they could not match Munster's extra tenacity, epitomised by the performances of Mark Black and Jason Black in midfield and by John Hobbs at the back as well as David Hobbs in attack.

The Leinster back four, not least Brian Groves, concentrated soundly on their assignment while Stephen Butler was the strongest player on the pitch in his pivotal role but even when he received some assistance from Will Powderly in driving forward, most of the channels were well guarded by the Munster defence.

In a tight robust game, Leinster shaded the short-corner count 5-4 but Munster finished with a 50 per cent success rate from the set pieces as the captain Alastair Dunne whisked the ball to the net in the 15th and 65th minutes with Butler replying from penalty stroke early in the second half.

So, on the representative front for the time being, Munster have the edge in buoyancy. This was emphasised by the cameo parts played by John Jermyn and Philip Smith when they were called off the bench to add to the visitors' discomfort. But overall Leinster's depth of resources at club level is bound to resurface and will be reflected in the national quota.

It will be interesting to see what the priorities are next weekend when there will be a temptation to go ahead with a full league programme on Saturday and still send a fired-up team to Lisburn on Sunday.

MUNSTER: W Bateman; D Eakins, K Burns, J Hobbs, D Hales; M Black, P Lombard, J Black; D Hobbs, A Dunne (capt), E Gash. Subs: A Chambers, J Jermyn, P Smith.

LEINSTER: N Henderson (capt); F de Rosa, A Bothwell, P Carley, B Groves: W Powderly, S Butler, A Browne; D Bane, G Shaw, J Goulding. Subs: D Jenkins, I Allen.

Umpires: G Burns, A Groves.