To the victor the spoils and the initial rights to the post-match narrative. Jack Crowley’s drop goal complete with the finger pointing homily to Ronan O’Gara as he wheeled away in celebration was the moment that Munster made the definitive movement on the scoreboard in a 16-15 victory.
Graham Rowntree’s side were deserving winners, partially in recognition of the first-half chances they created but didn’t take and secondly in relation to the resilience they demonstrated in the final quarter when Leinster had momentum and field position. Leinster head coach Leo Cullen acknowledged that Munster “won the game fair and square”.
He politely referenced his side’s late scrum dominance that went unrewarded when referee Frank Murphy had previously been unequivocal with his whistle in doling out free-kicks and penalties earlier in the match for sundry transgressions at that set piece.
The officiating lacked consistency at times, the same offence was penalised and then not penalised, plenty was missed, but it should not detract from or devalue Munster’s victory one iota. Teams and players must roll with the decisions – officials are entitled to make mistakes too – and more pointedly Leinster had chances to win the game and didn’t take them.
The Counter Ruck: the rugby newsletter from The Irish Times
Live: Ireland v Fiji, third test of the Autumn Nations Series
The bird-shaped obsession that drives James Crombie, one of Ireland’s best sports photographers
Former army baby Sam Prendergast not afraid to stand his ground in Ireland senior squad
The truth is, though, Munster shouldn’t have been in a position where they required a length of the field foray on a turnover to rescue the victory with Crowley’s nerveless drop kick. A tiny bit more patience and accuracy on three or four occasions in the first half and they should have scored tries, a reward for their superior creative edge.
On a brief tangential note, Ben Healy’s opening penalty on nine minutes was kicked after the 60-second clock on television had reached zero. It must have been set incorrectly.
The first of those Munster try-scoring opportunities came on seven minutes when Josh van der Flier, on for the luckless Will Connors, did brilliantly to rip the ball free from Jeremy Loughman’s hands about three metres from the Leinster line.
Leading 6-3 through a brace of Healy penalties, Munster kicked to the corner rather than at the posts on 30 minutes and as the lineout maul called for some auxiliary assistance from a couple of backs and was moving towards the Leinster line, Max Deegan insinuated his way into the maul and managed to strip the ball away and the home side were able to clear.
Rónan Kelleher was next to thwart another promising Munster attack, dispossessing Tadhg Beirne. And then in the second half when the visitors threatened the Leinster line once again, a double hit by Ryan Baird and Jason Jenkins forced the ball to squirt out of Roman Salanoa’s hands a few metres from the Leinster try line.
Munster, though, stayed in the fight, doing so when they conceded a try to Jenkins and another to replacement Joe McCarthy. Losing Healy to injury on 32 minutes – he’d had a fine match to that point with a nice half-break and excellent game management – meant that Crowley switched from inside centre to outhalf, his favoured position.
The transition was seamless, his range of passing assured and nuanced, piggybacking on and profiting from the graft of his hard-working pack ensured good variety, width and tempo. Gavin Coombes (turnover), John Hodnett and Rory Scannell made some crucial plays in that end game. The excellent Beirne too enjoyed some telling moments, as did Shane Daly.
Cullen has plenty to ponder ahead of next Saturday’s Champions Cup final against La Rochelle, not in terms of the composition of that team per se but there were several players who stood up.
Tommy O’Brien, Charlie Ngatai and Deegan had fine games, Jack Conan and Van der Flier were top class, Harry Byrne very good at times, while Baird’s athleticism, showcased in the try that wasn’t and his general contribution will see him push hard for a place in the starting backrow rather than secondrow. Robbie Henshaw, on return got better as the game went on.
The legacy of this match offers lessons for both teams. It’s a reminder to Leinster, even with an appreciably different team next Saturday, that there is a tariff to pay when consistently losing collisions and that ill discipline can undermine the best of intentions.
For Munster, when they travel to face the defending champions the Stormers in the URC final in a fortnight, that creativity must be accompanied by ruthlessness to avoid a hollow outcome, where substance matters far more than style.
