Leinster eventually make their class tell as depleted Munster run out of options

Leinster 27 Munster 13

This was a fitting game to mark Mick Dawson’s remarkable 22-year reign as the Leinster CEO. An attendance of 45,437 was a reward for Leinster’s clever ticket pricing and marketing, and reflected the machine which Dawson has helped to create.

Despite the game being shorn of some big game hunters, and ten of the Irish squad for the November series, it was still richly entertaining, and a good contest.

“it’s an amazing occasion,” said a discernibly relieved Leo Cullen afterwards. “A great sign-off for Mick Dawson after his X amount of years in power. Mick has been an amazing leader of the organisation, because that’s the challenge when you’ve got the dual mandate.

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“There’s the professional side, which we’re all here today for, but there’s the domestic game side as well, which is growing the game, participation, creating the interest where that type of crowd come to the game in the first place. You need the province all working together and Mick has been fantastic in the role for a hell of a long period of time in terms of being that support for lots of us, players and staff, not just rugby coaches. It’s the whole gang.”

When Munster took the lead with a well-worked try after Jack O’Donoghue’s outstanding work in generating a turnover and Conor Murray skip-passed for Gavin Coombes to put his cousin Liam over, six minutes into the second half, the battle was truly joined; it had become perhaps more of an occasion than Cullen or Dawson would have ideally wanted. Munster had done so with 14 men too.

Suddenly there was a palpable sense of hope among their supporters. Munster’s depleted team certainly fronted up, and Graham Rowntree felt they deserved more from the game.

Diarmuid Barron, Jack O’Donoghue and Gavin Coombes had big games, and often opting to run the ball from deep – possibly too much so – the two playmakers Joey Carbery and Jack Crowley enhanced their running game.

Yet Leinster were usually the team setting the high tempo. Their straight carrying and footwork was superior, so too their breakdown work, and with a better shape and more go-forward ball, their makeshift young back three dovetailed potently.

As a second playmaker outside Johnny Sexton, and in his first start at full-back, Ciarán Frawley also showed what a talented and versatile player he is, while adding to their kicking game when a shower of rain hit in the second half.

Untypically, Leinster only converted one of eight first-half entries inside the Munster 22 into points, and even that followed an uncharacteristic knock-on by Dan Sheehan after Frawley’s clean break, only for the home side to capitalise upon Kenyan Knox’s sinbinning after connecting with James Ryan’s head in a clear-out.

That first period was bookended by Conor Murray holding up Jason Jenkins and Sheehan over the line, with some help from the industrious Jack O’Donoghue, while there was also a close-range missed penalty by Johnny Sexton, knock-ons by Cian Healy, Sexton Osborne (Healy hitting him with an intended skip pass when the winger would have had a walk-in), and Jack Crowley picking off Osborne’s pass inside for McGrath after a sweet launch play, which rather typified Munster’s superb scramble defence.

But as is often the case, the superior team in a rugby match often doesn’t receive its rewards until the second half or last quarter. Munster made 108 tackles in that first half, compared to Leinster’s 65, and, as a depleted squad was hit further by injuries, the toll told.

Munster went into the game short in the back three, second-row and tight-head, with effectively no specialist cover in the latter two positions.

After being repelled with two catch-and-drives and a five metre scrum, and on foot of losing Jean Kleyn, Joey Carbery and Jack O’Sullivan, a depowered pack played the last ten minutes with a hooker in the back row, a number ‘8′ in the second-row and a loose-head at tight-head.

By contrast Leinster could replenish their pack with Andrew Porter, who had a truly transformative impact, Ross Molony and Jack Conan. Ultimately, as with Penny pumping his legs with that trademark low centre of gravity when driven over the line by Michael Ala’alatoa and Max Deegan, two more of their tries came off penalties to the corner and lineout mauls.

Sheehan dummied over on the blindside for his sixth try of another prolific season before Luke McGrath, of all people, steamed through Ben Healy and David Kilcoyne. The pick of their four was the fourth after Munster had punched themselves out.

Rob Russell was instigator and finisher, reclaiming Nick McCarthy’s box kick, before Porter and Conan injected some oomph into Leinster’s carries. Multiple high tempo phases later, with Ross Byrne now the second playmaker, Gary Ringrose swept around to create the extra man with a half-break and carry for the excellent Caelan Doris to put Russell over.

So, the bottom line is that Leinster sit top with 28 points out of a possible 30, with Munster 17 points adrift in tenth.

Scoring sequence: 22 mins Carbery pen 0-3; 28 mins Penny try, Sexton con 7-0; 34 mins Carbery pen 7-6; (half-time 7-6); 46 mins L Coombes try, Carbery con 7-13; 50 mins Sheehan try, Sexton con 14-13; 58 mins Sexton pen 17-13; 62 mins McGrath try 22-13; 77 mins Russell try 27-13.

Leinster: Ciarán Frawley, Jimmy O’Brien, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, Jamie Osborne, Jonathan Sexton (CAPT), Luke Mc Grath, Cian Healy, Dan Sheehan, Michael Ala’alatoa, Jason Jenkins, James Ryan, Max Deegan, Scott Penny, Caelan Doris. Replacements: Rob Russell for Osborne (38 mins), Porter for Healy (48 mins), Jack Conan for Deegan (54 mins), Ross Byrne for Frawley (60 mins), Ross Molony for Jenkins 67 mins), Thomas Clarkson for Ala’alatoa (71 mins), Nick McCarthy for McGrath (72 mins), John McKee for Sheehan (79 mins).

Munster: Jack Crowley, Shane Daly, Dan Goggin, Rory Scannell, Liam Coombes, Joey Carbery, Conor Murray, Jeremy Loughman, Diarmuid Barron, Keynan Knox, Jean Kleyn, Tom Ahern; Jack O’Donoghue (CAPT), John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes. Replacements: Dave Kilcoyne for Hodnett (27-37 mins) and for Knox (62 mins), Jack O’Sullivan for Kleyn (49 mins), Ben Healy for Carbery, Patrick Campbell for L Coombes (both 54 mins), Ruadhan Quinn for Hodnett (69 mins), Scott Buckley for O’Sullivan (70 mins), Paddy Patterson for Murray (71 mins). Not used: James French.

Sinbinned: Knox (27-37 mins), Kleyn (38-48 mins),

Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU).