Leinster ease past Munster with dominant second half performance

Leinster 25 Munster 14

To Leinster the points and much of the positives. Exuding confidence in their defence, they comfortably kept Munster at bay for much of the latest in another typically intense affair, and without being world-beaters showed much the sharper cutting edge.

As one suspected and all the more so with home advantage (this was a seventh win out of eight meetings at the Aviva), Leinster looked to have more individual quality and more strength in depth.

Hence, their supremacy grew as the match wore on. They were never less than equitable at the set-pieces, and although Munster manufactured some good mauls, overall Leinster had the better of contact zone and breakdown battle, where Rhys Ruddock, Jamie Heaslip, Jordi Murphy kept CJ Stander and the Munster runners largely in check.

There was much for the watching Joe Schmidt and co to take in.

Peter O’Mahony looked rusty, but at least completed another 40 minutes in readying himself for their European Champions Cup opener away to Racing Metro. Altogether more encouraging, for province and country, was Robbie Henshaw’s increasingly influential seasonal re-appearance and belated debut for Leinster. Uber physical, he also showed some nice touches.

Best of all perhaps, was another polished display by Johnny Sexton, who showed his full repertoire, running and passing, deft tactical kicking, points gathering and tackling – in another Man of the Match display.

Munster’s desire was unquestionable, epitomised by Stander, Conor Murray and the hard-working Simon Zebo. They huffed and puffed mightily, but they had to expand way more energy for less reward; indeed, often times, for no reward at all, which evidently proved more and more dispiriting. Although they have finishers, and Tyler Bleyendaal picked some nice lines and offloads, but without Francis Saili, their missing ballast in that 10-12-13 axis.

By comparison Leinster’s 10-12-13 of Sexton, Henshaw and the eye-catching Garry Ringrose looked the future in both blue, and perhaps green.

Defensively, Leinster kept their shape far better through multiple phases than Munster who, by comparison, lost their shape all too quickly.

The official attendance was given as 40,527, which presumably included Leinster’s 12,000 season-ticket holders, whether they all turned up or not. Certainly it looked smaller than the 39,000 or so who’d been here last Thursday day for the Republic of Ireland’s first World Cup qualifier at home.

Munster had much of the early possession but as if often the case, that can be a liability when the energy is at its zenith. Leinster’s belief in a defence that was already the best in the League last season has gone up a notch, and they were quite content to exit with long kicks to around half-way and then take anything Munster could throw at them.

When Munster went through 14 phases for a net loss in contact, Keith Earls kicked straight to the covering Luke McGrath, and when Murray then boxkicked, Rory Scannell hit an airborne Sexton. When Peter O’Mahony pulled down an airborne Jamie Heaslip at the ensuing line-out, Sexton opened the scoring.

Again Munster went through phases, and again Rory Scannell had to chase his own poorly executed up-and-under from which Rob Kearney did enough for Leinster to secure possession. Sexton was also quick to release they had an extra man on the blindside from the next recycle, Ringrose using a two-on-one to dummy and Darren Sweetman and find Sexton on his inside. His pass released Isa Nacewa, and though Zebo executed a fine covering tackle Nacewa was adjudged to have flung the ball infield before being tackled into touch. From the intense pressure off the ensuing line-out drive, Rory Scannell was done for not rolling away and Sexton made it 6-0.

Again Munster came calling, Bleyendaal cutting between Ringrose and Rhys Ruddock, but O’Mahony lost the ball in contact when tackled by Henshaw, and even when Sweetman beat Nacewa in the air to a Murray box kick, it was Jordi Murphy’s turn to receive all his teammates’ plaudits for driving back Stander after he took slow ball.

The positive body language was all in blue.

Briefly though, perhaps it was too much so, as their scrum was penalised for wheeling and then Cian Healy for a high tackle. Even then, despite a strong carry from Rory Scannell, after which Leinster were not penalised for failing to retreat behind the gain line, it was Zebo’s turn to lose the ball in contact when Munster went wide.

When Sweetman fumbled a wildly loose Munster line-out, McGrath sniped effectively, and Leinster attacked off the scrum. But Luke McGrath again delayed the ruck ball when demanding a penalty, and from his loopy pass, Devin Toner was done for side entry.

This time Bleyendaal found far more distance with his penalty to touch, and when that drive was pulled down, O’Mahony opted for another kick to the corner and called the throw on himself. When the initial drive was held up, with O’Mahony, John Ryan and Stander at its core, they reformed and peeled infield, Rory Scannell and Rory O’Mahony joining in as the skipper completed the touchdown.

It had to be confirmed by the TMO, Simon McDowell, as David Wilkinson was so out of position, before Bleyendaal tagged on a good conversion. Sheer desire as much as anything had put Munster in front.

Within moments Leinster should have struck back. Having been repelled by the Munster defence, Sexton grubbered beautifully into the most valuable commodity on a rugby pitch – space – and all Ringrose had to do was gather the bobbling ball and dive over, or gently kick it on. In the event, to his and much of the crowd’s horror, he fumbled with the line at his mercy.

For Munster though, it was only a stay of execution. Scrum pressure forced to truck the ball up through Rory Scannell, but the Sexton-Henshaw axis saw it coming and executed the choke tackle for a turnover scrum. Two solid feeds later, McGrath went blind where a deft transfer by Sexton gave Nacewa sufficient space for a sharp finish.

Murray was perhaps too narrow, not trusting the rusty O’Mahony off the base, and in turn Sweetman bit in too much.

Six minutes in the making but inevitable, and the half finished with Leinsrer deservedly 11-7 ahead.

But despite their captain being replaced by Jack O’Donoghue, Munster upped their intensity another notch from the start of the second half. O’Donoghue was at the heart of their early supremacy, putting Munster back on the attack with a superb poach after Leinster for once ran the ball out in giving Rory O’Loughlin a rare run.

Through excellent ball retention, and one nice run and offload by Bleyendaal to Stander, and his to O’Donoghue, before a good carry by Sweetman, Zebo took a hard straight line off Murray’s pop. But their ensuing five metre scrum was overturned when the TMO adjudged James Cronin of a double movement. Technically correct, if tough on Munster, and perhaps the game’s final turning point.

To compound this, when Leinster came calling once again they looked to have a far sharper. It helped that James Tracey stole another wayward Munster line-out. Sexton’s handling nearly outflanked the four-up defence, but from the recycle McGrath’s superb pass gave Ringrose the chance to show his wondrous footwork as he stepped inside Stander and others.

Henshaw appeared to knock-on at the ensuing breakdown, but from the recycle, Sexton went out the back and wide to Rob Kearney. Judging by the grass lines, the full-back’s pass to Nacewa for his second try looked four or five metres forward. Watching the replays on the big screen, the Munster crowd moaned, the Leinster supporters almost laughed. Awful officiating, collectively, by all four of them. In any case, Sexton’s conversion made it 18-7.

Jaco Taute replaced Earls and with his first touch knocked on a poor pass by Rory Scannell. From a big scrum, Leinster opted to go up the line rather than take the three, and again soon after with another penalty. They scented blood.

Munster kept them at bay, but Leinster’s grip on the territory and the game was vice like and when Henshaw cleverly grubbered in behind, the retreating Ronan O’Mahony fumbled his attempted pick-up or quite touchdown whereupon Bleyendaal knocked on and Jamison Gibson-Park smartly touched down. Keystone cops stuff, but this actually was a more legitimate try. Sexton made it 25-7.

To their credit, the Munster pack found the energy to rumble 20 metres off a line-out, and the introduction of Ian Keatley in tandem with Bleyendaal helped put more pace and width on the ball as they combined for Zebo to put Taute over. Keatley converted and although the game was long since up, both sides needed a try for a bonus point. Neither came close, but in any event the game was long since up. To Leinster the points and much of the positives.

Scoring sequence: 6 mins Sexton pen 3-0; 10 mins Sexton pen 6-0; 26 mins P O'Mahony try, Bleyendaal con 6-7; 35 mins Nacewa try 11-7; (half-time 11-7); 55 mins Nacewa rtry, Sexton con 18-7; 68 mins Gibson-Park try, Sexton con 25-7; 75 mins Taute try, Keatley con 25-14.

LEINSTER: Rob Kearney; Rory O'Loughlin, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, Isa Nacewa (capt); Jonathan Sexton, Luke McGrath; Cian Healy, Sean Cronin, Tadhg Furlong, Devin Toner, Ian Nagle, Rhys Ruddock, Jordi Murphy, Jamie Heaslip.

Replacements: Jack McGrath for Healy (49 mins), Ross Molony for Nagle (54 mins), Dan Leavy for Murphy (61 mins), James Tracy for Cronin, Mike Ross for Furlong, Jamison Gibson Park for L McGrath (all 64 mins), Joey Carbery for Sexton (69 mins), Noel Reid for Kearney (76 mins).

MUNSTER: Simon Zebo; Darren Sweetnam, Keith Earls, Rory Scannell, Ronan O'Mahony; Tyler Bleyendaal, Conor Murray; Dave Kilcoyne, Niall Scannell, John Ryan, Donnacha Ryan, Billy Holland, Peter O'Mahony (capt), Tommy O'Donnell, CJ Stander.

Replacements: Jack O’Donoghue for O’Mahony (half-time), James Cronin for Kilcoyne (46 mins), Jaco Taute for Earls (57 mins), Stephen Archer for Ryan (63 mins), Robin Copeland for Ryan (69 mins), Ian Keatley for R Scannell (71 mins), Duncan Casey for N Scannell (73 mins). Not used: Duncan Williams.

Referee: David Wilkinson (IRFU).