Leinster edge Munster in Irish derby

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Joey Carbery kicked the decisive penalty as Leinster beat Munster 16-15 in Dublin on Saturday to set up a Pro14 final against the Scarlets.

Against all expectations, the Irish derby turned out to be an underwhelming, low-quality affair. The contest lacked intensity and accuracy in execution, more so in the first half than the second.

Nevertheless, Leinster – who adapted better to the match situation – got the job done to keep alive their ambitions of completing the championship double, having clinched the European Champions Cup title last week.

The match got off to a tentative start as both sides tested each other out, but in the seventh minute the deadlock was broken thanks to excellent individual skill by James Lowe. The Kiwi wing made two blistering linebreaks, on both occasions viciously handing off Simon Zebo, before popping a no-look offload to No 8 Jack Conan for a try.


There would be a penalty either way as the hosts took a 10-3 lead into the sheds at half-time.

Munster were reduced to 14 men when Jean Kleyn received a yellow card for charging into a ruck recklessly and yet they managed to score despite the numerical disadvantage. Veteran wing Keith Earls took a lofted pass from Zebo, shrugged off two tacklers and powered through a third to dot down in the corner.


The game got messier as it progressed, as did Munster’s discipline. Ross Berne nailed a second penalty as Munster were penalised for streaking offside in the 46th minute.

The action was limited over the next 30 minutes as neither team could add to its tally. But the match sparked to life in the last three minutes.

In the 77th minute, Carbery looked to have settled the result in Leinster’s favour with a long-range penalty goal, but a minute later replacement Gerbrant Grobler burrowed over for a converted try to make it a one-point game. There was still time for a restart and for a dramatic Munster win.

REPORT: Clinical Scarlets into Pro14 final

The visitors secured possession and patiently carried the ball into Leinster territory, but then prop Dave Kilcoyne ran away from his support, got isolated and conceded a turnover penalty, which effectively ended the game and with that Munster’s hopes of silverware this season.

Leinster – Try: Jack Conan. Conversion: Joey Carbery. Penalties: Ross Berne (2), Carbery.
Munster – Tries: Keith Earls, Gerbrandt Grobler. Conversion: Conor Murray. Penalty: JJ Hanrahan.

Leinster – 15 Joey Carbery, 14 Jordan Larmour, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Isa Nacewa (c), 11 James Lowe, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Jordi Murphy, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 James Ryan, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Seán Cronin, 1 Jack McGrath.
Subs: 16 James Tracy, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Andrew Porter, 19 Scott Fardy, 20 Max Deegan, 21 Nick McCarthy, 22 Rory O’Loughlin, 23 Barry Daly.

Munster – 15 Simon Zebo, 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Sammy Arnold, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Keith Earls, 10 JJ Hanrahan, 9 Conor Murray, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Jack O’Donoghue, 6 Peter O’Mahony (c), 5 Billy Holland, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 John Ryan, 2 Rhys Marshall, 1 James Cronin.
Subs: 16 Niall Scannell, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Ciaran Parker, 19 Gerbrandt Grobler, 20 Robin Copeland, 21 Duncan Williams, 22 Ian Keatley, 23 Darren Sweetnam.

Photo: Getty Images

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Mariette Adams