Leinster 13; Munster 8
Scorers
Leinster: Tries: Josh van der Flier Cons: Harry Byrne
Pens: Harry Byrne (2)
Munster: Tries: Dan Kelly Pens: Jack Crowley (1)
The times, they are a-changing in Irish club rugby or provincial fare, as we prefer to call it. There was a time when Leinster would have seen such a scoreline as something of a loss while Munster would have found moral victory status in only losing by five points.
That was then and since Munster came to Croke Park and hammered their deadliest foes earlier this season, it was imperative that Leinster found a way to win away in Thomond Park this Yuletide - and they did by defending with all their might to prevent their opponents in red from breaching their defense for a late draw or victory.
So in one sense, it was a case of revenge being sweet but that old cliche didn’t really fit at the end of this encounter. In the end, Leinster were relieved to get any sort of win – their 6th in a row in all competitions – while Munster were disappointed that they were unable to complete a double on their eastern neighbors.
On a more macro level, it is a little disconcerting that a month out from the beginning of the Six Nations, Ireland, largely comprised of these two provinces, are looking at players who are not lacking in graft but seem to have lost their guile with the ball in hand.
As I’ve been suggesting for a while now, the best outhalf Andy Farrell seems to have at his disposal is Harry Byrne, who was almost discarded last year. Neither Jack Crowley at the helm in Munster or Sam Prendergast, who is usually the Leinster first-choice No. 10, have shown anything above mediocrity in the past 12 months and if one or other of them are in the green outhalf shirt, we will be in trouble away to France in our first game. This is the season when we play the other big two - France and England away - and what we need in these cases is a Sexton-like head who can manage the game while also getting his three-quarters line moving quickly.
Byrne did this well in Thomond Park but it will be a surprise if Farrell picks him ahead of the current options.
This was a game where Leinster showed the other side of their game, defense, is in rude good health but then they were aided and abetted by a Munster backline that displayed little invention in trying to penetrate their opposition in front of a 26,000 packed crowd.
The fact that each side only managed one try each - Leinster's from Josh van der Flier was at the end of a rampaging maul to touch down and give the visitors a 7-0 half time lead.
Further scoring then saw Byrne and Crowley swapped some penalties in the third quarter, to boost the Leinster lead to 13-3.
Munster’s try came from Dan Kelly, with Crowley missing the conversion. With only five points difference this put the largely partisan home crowd on tenterhooks as the home side dominated possession in the final quarter but try as they might, they were unable to get in for the dot down that most in the crowd yearned for.
Ultimately the hosts had to be content with a losing bonus-point as they get ready for the journey north to take on Ulster in Belfast this weekend.
Leinster: Ciarán Frawley, Tommy O'Brien, Rieko Ioane, Robbie Henshaw, James Lowe, Harry Byrne, Jamison Gibson-Park, Andrew Porter, Rónan Kelleher, Thomas Clarkson, Joe McCarthy, James Ryan, Max Deegan, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt) Replacements: J McKee (for Kelleher, 67), P McCarthy (for Porter, 49), T Furlong (for Clarkson, 48), D Mangan, S Penny (for Van der Flier, 74), F Gunne (for Gibson-Park, 74), C Tector (for Henshaw, 34), A Osborne (for O’Brien, 77).
Munster: M Haley; S Daly, T Farrell, A Nankivell, T Abrahams; J Crowley, C Casey; M Milne, L Barron, M Ala'alatoa; E Edogbo, T Ahern; T Beirne (capt), J O'Donoghue, G Coombes Replacements: D Barron (for Lee Barron, 55), J Loughman (for Milne, 55), J Ryan (for Ala’alatoa, 55), J Kleyn (for Edogbo, 49), F Wycherley (for Ahern, 66), P Patterson (for Casey, 71), D Kelly (for Abrahams, 56), J Hodnett (for O’Donoghue, 66).
Ref: P Martin (IRFU).
Ulster shade it in game of equals
Ulster 29; Connacht 24
There was little or nothing between these two sides in Galway at the weekend but Ullster’s purple patch before and after the short whistle allowed them to gain a slight upper-hand, which ultimately was the difference.
Ulster started out poorly but the four tries on either side of the break between the 33rd and the 52nd minute, gave them the oxygen to gain a bonus point win. This time around they can thank winger Zac Ward who got over for two of his side’s tries which changed the course of the outcome.
Once again South African winger Werner Kok was on fire and continued his rich scoring form with his team’s third after the resumption while the all-important bonus point came via a penalty try some five minutes later.
Connacht didn’t give up without a fight and Stuart Lancaster’s men showed great pride in front of their home fans despite suffering their fifth domestic reverse of the season.
They had started out brightly with the only minus the fact that they didn’t translate their possession into scores on the board.
The clock had touched the 23rd minute mark before the deadlock was broken when Finn Treacy got over in the left-hand corner for a score that was met with a rousing cheer.
Then Lions and Ireland prop Finlay Bealham was the master of negotiating a scrum penalty under the posts on 32 minutes which Sam Gilbert converted to stretch the men in green’s lead to 10-0.
Just as it looked like Connacht would kick on the reverse happened as Ulster gained the upperhand for the final 10 minutes of the first half, with Ward scoring two tries to give the visitors an undeserved interval advantage.
The temperature rose to boiling point at one point on the changeover as Connacht centre Bundee Aki and Ulster's Stuart McCloskey became involved in a handbag game of “hold me back and let me at ‘em’” -- which saw both men get a 10-minute spell on the naughty step of the sin-bin.
Jacob Stockdale, the former Ireland winger, was showing improved form yet again in this encounter as he created his side’s third try by Kok, who was recording his fifth dot down in three games.
The Red Hand province secured its bonus point try after 53 minutes following a sustained bout of pressure inside the home 22, which yielded a penalty try as referee Eoghan Cross losing patience with the Connacht defending, flashed yellow at home second row Joe Joyce in the process.
Despite their disadvantage numerically and on the scoreboard, the Western province refused to lie down and were rewarded with 14 minutes remaining. Sub Josh Iaone made an impressive run through the middle and fed Treacy who was finally stopped close to the try-line. However, following a swift recycling Sean Janssen powered over from close range.
Like Munster in the other all-Irish encounter, Connacht camped in their opponents 22 and their reward was getting Matthew Devine over, as Gilbert then narrowed the gap to two.
Ulster showed good game management by refusing to panic and when Connacht were penalized at a ruck just around the 10-minute mark, Jack Murphy slotted home the placed ball to allow his team head back North with maximum points.
