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Leinster Rugby held on for a slender one point victory over Munster Rugby in their BKT United Rugby Championship game at Thomond Park on St Stephen’s night.
With 63% possession and 54% of territory in the opening half, Munster held a slender 7-6 lead at the break, but a tight second period saw Leinster scrape home with a victory.
Ross Byrne put his side into the lead after only two minutes when kicking a straightforward penalty for a kicker of his quality. Munster had conceded the penalty on the own 10-metre line when Dave Kilcoyne was guilty of not rolling away.
The Leinster Number 10 doubled his sides advantage on 20 minutes when adding his second penalty of the night. A failure to move away by Munster gifted Leinster an easy attempt, which Byrne successfully slotted over.
Joey Carbery was given an opportunity to reduce the deficit on 23 minutes when the referee blew for wheeling the scrum. From just outside the attacking 22-metre line, Carbery’s effort went left of the post, much to the disappointment of the majority of the attendance.
It took over half an hour for Munster to finally get some points on the scoreboard. With Munster camped on the Leinster try-scoring line for a number of minutes, the men in red continued to charge towards the line before Gavin Coombes finally burrowed over to score. Positioned near the posts in a central position, Joey Carbery added the extras for a 7-6 advantage inside the final 10 minutes of the opening half.
30 nóim #MUNvLEI@Munsterrugby – 7@leinsterrugby – 6
Úd tábhachtach faigthe ag na Mumhanaigh 10 nóiméad roimh leath ama
Gavin Coombes gives Munster an important try 10 minutes before half time to give them the lead@IrishRugby @URCOfficial#URC #Rugby pic.twitter.com/2qZom6hXb3
— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) December 26, 2022
Ross Byrne missed his third penalty kick at goal on the crest of halt-time. From narrowly inside the Munster 10m line, Byrne could have put his side into a narrow half-time lead as the teams headed down the tunnel. The miss meant the home side held the slenderest of leads at the break of this tight and tense inter-provincial game.
Half-time: Munster Rugby 7 Leinster Rugby 6
Second Half
Max Deegan broke his bind as his side were on the back foot of a Munster attack early in the second period. With the men in blue retreating, referee Chris Busby had no hesitation in awarding Munster a penalty try and sent Deegan to the sin bin for ten minutes. The 14-6 scoreline was Munster’s highest scoring advantage to that point in the game.
The response from the visitors was immediate, however, as Scott Penny crashed over for a five-pointer. Leinster had a penalty awarded but opted to tap and go leading to Penny claiming his side’s first try of the game. Ross Byrne scored the conversion to narrow the deficit to the bare minimum: Munster 14 Leinster 13.
48 nóim #MUNvLEI@Munsterrugby – 14@leinsterrugby – 13
Imirt glic ag Dan Sheehan agus feiceann Scott Penny an spás agus faigheann sé an úd
Smart pass from Dan Sheehan as Scott Penny sees the space and gets his try@IrishRugby @URCOfficial#URC #Rugby pic.twitter.com/VmoP9VdpJG
— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) December 26, 2022
Within minutes a similar move where Leinster charged for the Munster line saw Leo Cullen’s side claim another try. Dan Sheehan lined-up ahead of the Leinster team as he picked and charged through a weak Munster defensive effort, touching down for his side’s second try of the game. Ross Byrne added the extra points to push his outfit into a 20-14 lead with half an hour remaining in the game.
53 nóim #MUNvLEI@Munsterrugby – 14@leinsterrugby – 20
Úd uimhir a hocht ag Dan Sheehan sa séasúr seo agus tá na Laighingh chun tosaigh arís
Dan Sheehan gets his eighth try of the season as he gives Leinster the lead again@IrishRugby @URCOfficial#URC #Rugby pic.twitter.com/OA6NT3EiEq
— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) December 26, 2022
The second Leinster try in a short period of time, seemed to dishearten both the Munster side and their supporters. Replacement Patrick Campbell gave them some hope when scoring in the corner with over 15 minutes remaining. With Munster attacking the Leinster defensive line, Gavin Coombes looked sure to get over as he burst for the line, only to be denied short of the whitewash. Campbell, positioned in splendid isolation neat the touchline was soon the recipient of possession. He dived over to bring his side to within one point of the URC Rugby Championship’s leading side. With Carbery’s last action of the game being a missed conversion attempt, as the ball went wide of the right hand post, the eastern province held onto a single point lead, an advantage that would take them to an away success at Thomond Park.
63 nóim #MUNvLEI@Munsterrugby – 19@leinsterrugby – 20
Faigheann Patrick Campbell úd eile do na Mumhnaigh chun an scór a laghdú idir na foirne
Patrick Campbell closes the gap between the two teams with only a point between them@IrishRugby @URCOfficial#URC #Rugby pic.twitter.com/GZjax3hiao
— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) December 26, 2022
Final score: Munster Rugby 19 Leinster Rugby 20
Munster Rugby Team
15. Shane Daly, 14. Calvin Nash, 13. Antoine Frisch, 12. Jack Crowley, 11. Keith Earls, 10. Joey Carbery, 9. Conor Murray.
1. Dave Kilcoyne, 2. Niall Scannell, 3. John Ryan, 4. Jean Kleyn, 5. Tadhg Beirne, 6. Jack O’Donoghue, 7. Peter O’Mahony (captain), 8. Gavin Coombes.
Munster Rugby Replacements
16. Diarmuid Barron, 17. Josh Wycherley, 18. Roman Salanoa, 19. Kiran McDonald, 20. Alex Kendellen, 21. Craig Casey, 22. Rory Scannell, 23. Patrick Campbell.
Leinster Rugby Team
15. Hugo Keenan, 14. Jordan Larmour, 13. Garry Ringrose (captain), 12. Jamie Osborne, 11. James Lowe, 10. Ross Byrne, 9. Nick McCarthy.
1. Andrew Porter, 2. Dan Sheehan, 3. Cian Healy, 4. Ryan Baird, 5. Joe McCarthy, 6. Rhys Ruddock, 7. Scott Penny, 8. Max Deegan.
Leinster Rugby Replacements
16. John McNee, 17. Michael Milne, 18. Vakhtang Abdaladze, 19. Ross Molony, 20. Jack Conan, 21. Luke McGrath, 22. Harry Byrne, 23. Liam Turner.
Referee: Chris Busby (IRFU)
Scorers:
Munster:
Try: Coombes, Campbell
Conv: Carbery
Penalty try
Leinster:
Pen: Byrne 1
Conv Byrne 2
Try: Penny, Sheehan
LiveScores Now Available at IrishScores.com
#Munster #Leinster #URC #Rugby #Championship