Sexton worry as Larmour seals the win
IRISH captain Jonathan Sexton limped off in the third quarter at Thomond Park as PRO14 champions Leinster came from behind to maintain their recent dominance over arch rivals Munster.
Irish coach Andy Farrell and his newly-appointed forwards coach Paul O’Connell kept a close eye on proceedings as two fully loaded sides battled it out just two weeks before the Six Nations.
And they will be concerned after Sexton withdrew after 54 minutes after getting a knock and establishing the extent of what could be a hamstring injury will be a priority.
Munster, having enjoyed early dominance, led 10-6 at the end of an opening half where Leinster recovered from a slow start to enjoy 65 per cent possession.
Both teams put a lot of boot to ball from the outset but it was Munster, looking for only their second win in the last nine meetings with Leinster, who got on top and deservedly opened up a 10-0 lead after 12 minutes.
JJ Hanrahan landed a penalty from 45 metres after five minutes and they built on that. A penalty won in the scrum on halfway provided a platform for the opening try with Munster launching a series of drives after a good kick to touch from Hanrahan and the pressure finally told when lock Tadhg Beirne squeezed through under the posts, with Hanrahan converting.
Leinster skipper Sexton got them off the mark with a penalty in front of the posts after 25 minutes.
Leinster went to the corner with a couple of penalties but drive after drive was repelled by a strong Munster defence.
Leinster cut the gap to four points when Sexton landed a penalty from the ten-metre line.
Munster got on top after the restart but Hanrahan was off target with a penalty from 20 metres after a barrage of drives had failed to find an opening.
But then excellent fullback Hugo Keenan and replacement out-half Ross Byrne combined for Jordan Larmour to pounce and score in the right corner to edge Leinster in front for the first time after 69 minutes, with Byrne landing the difficult conversion to make it 13-10 and seal the win.