LEINSTER GRIND IT OUT
Munster’s failings re-emerge as arch rivals march into another Pro14 final
ANINTH final in 11 years for Leinster and a fifth failure at this juncture for Munster. For the third season in a row, Leo Cullen’s men have triumphed over their rivals in a Pro14 semi-final. Those are the cold, hard facts.
Leinster were error-strewn, sloppy and indisciplined but Munster couldn’t land a killer blow when it mattered.
They were in the game for long periods, and yet they weren’t. It always felt like Leinster had an extra gear. They can look forward to another final while Munster will go back to the drawing board, again. The gulf in class remains.
The weight of history weighs heavily on this Munster squad with former out-half great Ronan O’Gara suggesting yesterday that this current crop are probably sick to death of hearing about the glory days.
The only way to step out of those long shadows is to make a statement. Last night was the latest opportunity, but it was just another chapter in this era of Leinster dominance.
Like a prize fighter, they sat back on the ropes for the opening 20 minutes and absorbed all the punishment. For all of Munster’s territory, commitment and endeavour, they had just three points from the boot of JJ Hanrahan to show for their efforts.
It helps when Leinster have a player like Will Connors. There’s a reason why the Kildare-born openside is keeping Josh van der Flier out of the team. Connors is quality. Time and again, he scythed down Munster’s big runners — denying them much-needed momentum.
So often these encounters come down to small moments and that was best exemplified after 29 minutes. Leinster had lost most of the mini battles up until then before Johnny Sexton attempted to find some grass with a raking kick over the head of Keith Earls. An uncharacteristic fumble by the Munster wing handed Leinster an attacking scrum deep in enemy territory. Spearheaded by Andrew Porter on the tightside side, the hosts duly eviscerated the Munster pack, earning a penalty for their efforts. Sexton duly went for the corner. Moments later, Ronan Kelleher emerged from under a collapsed lineout maul to score.
First visit to the opposition 22. First points. Ruthless. Sexton’s conversion gave his side a 7-3 lead. Munster, meanwhile, were lacking that killer edge. A flowing move from quick lineout ball was looking promising before Garry Ringrose forced Damian de Allende to fumble his pass.
Leinster were growing into the contest now and were finishing the half strongly with the likes of Porter, Scott Fardy and Caelan Doris beginning to make their presence felt. Sexton booted a penalty through the posts to make it 10-3 before the break and that old sinking feeling began to settle in for Munster.
They lost Andrew Conway early in the second half after a nasty collision with Robbie Henshaw, leading to reshuffle in the backline with Rory Scannell moving up from the bench into out-half and Hanrahan shifting to fullback. They almost lost Hanrahan moments later when the Kerryman and Jordan Larmour clashed.
Larmour left the action while Hanrahan carried on.
Still, it was tight and this was not vintage stuff from Leinster. Rarely do they make this many unforced errors but, crucially, they held a seven-point lead.
When Munster finally got a foothold in Leinster territory in the 56th minute, Niall Scannell’s target at the tail of the lineout was Billy Holland but Devin Toner read it to make a crucial steal. Another big moment.
When Tadhg Beirne won a trademark penalty on the deck, Hanrahan had a chance to trim Leinster’s lead but his penalty effort sailed to the left of the posts.
He would hook another a few minutes later. Was he still feeling the effects of that collision with Larmour earlier in the half? Hanrahan had been knocking kicks like that over for fun all season.
Cullen then sent on the cavalry as Ryan Baird, Sean Cronin and Jamison Gibson-Park entered the fray. When Doris— outstanding in the second half — won a penalty at the breakdown, Sexton put further daylight between the sides. It was only 13-3, but it felt like a long way back for Munster.
And it proved to be. The sight of Beirne throwing his scrum cap on the ground when he was subbed off in the dying minutes told its own story: another night, another reality check.
LEINSTER: J Larmour (R O’Loughlin 47); H Keenan, G Ringrose, R Henshaw, J Lowe; J Sexton (capt) (R Byrne 68), L McGrath (J Gibson-Park 61); C Healy (E Byrne 55), R Kelleher (S Cronin 64), A Porter (M Bent 64); D Toner, S Fardy (R Baird 53); C Doris, W Connors (J van der Flier 75), J Conan. Scorers - Try: Kelleher; Con: Sexton; Pens: Sexton (2). Yellow card: Van der Flier.
MUNSTER: S Daly; A Conway (R Scannell 46), C Farrell, D de Allende, K Earls; JJ Hanrahan, C Murray (C Casey 71); J Loughman (J Cronin 57), N Scannell (K O’Byrne 68), S Archer (J Ryan 51); B Holland (F Wycherley 58), T Beirne (G Coombes 78); P O’Mahony (capt), J O’Donoghue (C Cloete 51), CJ Stander Scorers - Pen: Hanrahan. Referee: A Brace (Ireland).