FULL-TIME Leinster 3-27 Munster

So a comprehensive win by Munster, fully deserved. They dominated the breakdown and destroyed Leinster’s line-out. Their own maul worked well while some individual performances – De Allende, Beirne, Stander, O’Mahony, Kleyn and Murray – were top-notch. 

Leinster were poor. However, this wasn’t Leinster’s first XV.

80 minutes – clock in the red and Healy kicks deep into the Leinster half.

And it goes nowhere.

80 minutes Leinster have another penalty; Coombes penalised. Leinster seeking a consolation try.

79 minutes Leinster win a scrum penalty. 

77 minutes Munster get their maul going again but Fardy’s defending is brilliant. The veteran Australian disrupts Munster’s charge. Not that it matters, this match was settled a long time ago.

76 minutes penalty, Munster. Leinster look desperately disorganised at this stage. Damian De Allende has been given the man of the match award. You can’t argue with that.

Ten defeats in 11 matches to Leinster; six defeats on the trot …..

you won’t be reading those words any more. Munster have dominated this game, De Allende and O’Mahony have been superb; Farrell, too, has played well. Leinster struggling without 10 of their preferred starting XV.

Leinster 3-27 Munster

Yellow card to Cormac Foley; Munster’s maul worked brilliantly there; Scannell threw well, Beirne gathered after a clever variation; Leinsetr could do nothing to stop it legally, so an illegal collapse led to referee Busby awarding the penalty try. 

PENALTY TRY MUNSTER

71 minutes O’Mahony wins the line-out – the Munster captain has excelled this evening – De Allende gets his hands on it; ball goes wide, O’Mahony, Stander, carry well. Munster have a penalty just inside the Leinster 22. Scott Fardy made a no-arms tackle. Healy goes to the corner.

68 minutes Chris Farrell wins ANOTHER penalty for Munster at the breakdown. Healy kicks to touch. 

67 minutes Ben Healy has come on for Carbery. 

Here is the second try.

TRY:

61 mins:

Leinster 3-20 MUNSTER.

Conor Murray scores his second try, after Chris Farrell gets on the end of a brilliant Gavin Coombes offload in the build-up.

Joey Carberry kicks the conversion.#LEIvMUN #GuinnessPRO14RainbowCup pic.twitter.com/au4IWIz0BC

— eir Sport (@eirSport) April 24, 2021

66 minutes Tadhg Beirne forces a turnover as Leinster – yet again – run into traffic. In terms of their breakdown work and defence, Munster have been top drawer tonight.

A late mention must also go to Chris Farrell for his role in the Munster try; huge carry.

What a contest this pair have had.

Billy Stickland / INPHO Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO

63 minutes Leinster 3-20 Munster

A clever try from Munster; Carbery supplying De Allende, the Springbok making big yards in the Leinster 22; fine play from Gavin Coombes creates the gap that Murray goes on to exploit. There is time left but Munster can’t lose this now.

CONVERSION MUNSTER (Carbery)

TRY MUNSTER (Murray)

It is given. Huge moment in this game.

62 minutes Try Munster? TMO to check grounding; Conor Murray dived over.

61 minutes Scott Fardy has come in for James Ryan. 

Carbery is beginning to find his groove.

59 minutes Yet another handling error – you’d swear this was a wet November night – and Munster counter cleverly. Chris Farrell kicks through for Shane Daly to chase but Baird has read Farrell’s intentions. Leinster survive.

Leinster try to build the phases but Munster’s work rate has been excellent in this match. They have dominated the breakdown and create a turnover steal. 

56 minutes Knock on from Niall Scannell. Leinster counter; Lowe, Ed Byrne, Ringrose make serious yards; best move of the match from Leinster. They are in the Munster 22. 

55 minutes Ryan Baird coughs up possession in contact; ball spills loose and Carbery makes them pay, kicking deep into the Leinster 22. Dave Kearney saves the day.

So we have had three big moments there.

1 – Leinster didn’t take a kick at goal when the opportunity as there

2 – O’Mahony won a turnover he had no right to

3 – When offered a shot at goals, Munster took it. The lead is now 10 points. It is so hard to see how they will lose this. They’ve picked a much stronger team than Leinster and it is showing.

53 minutes Leinster 3-13 Munster (PENALTY CARBERY)

52 minutes Penalty to Munster after Ryan Baird has tackled Carbery off the ball. Carbery is lining up a kick at goal.

Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO

49 minutes Carbery finds touch; Scannell then fails to find O’Mahony from the resulting line-out. Leinster go back 20 yards, though – Munster’s linespeed has been superb tonight. Kleyn and O’Mahony also put in big tackles and Leinster cough up a breakdown penalty. That was a big moment. 

46 minutes Munster defend Leinster’s maul well; Josh Murphy tries to make yards but Munster block his path; Porter has a go, then Byrne and Jack O’Donoghue – back on the field – forces the turnover with help from Niall Scannell. That, from a defensive perspective, was magnificent from Munster. Leinster’s chance to cut the gap from seven to four has elapsed. They’ll regret that.

45 minutes A handling mistake by Mike Haley gifts possession to Leinster on halfway. Josh Murphy makes a decent break; Garry Ringrose gets involved. Munster scramble well initially but Chris Farrell is penalised. Hawkshaw goes to the corner rather than attempts a kick at goal.

44 minutes Better from Munster, CJ Stander carries well; Murray at the controls is making good decisions; Scannell also makes yards but then Andrew Porter’s turnover stops their momentum. Leinster have defended really well in this game but Munster have left at least 10 points behind them. Will it matter in the end?

42 minutes Keynan Knox has come on for Jack O’Donoghue for this scrum. De Allende has gone into the backrow to lend a hand. Solid Munster scrum; Farrell carries – and again Munster cough up possession. The handling errors in this game – from both teams – have been shockingly poor.

Second-half underway here. 

Leinster 3-10 Munster

Huge chance for Munster to end their losing streak against Leinster. Ten of their last 11 games against Leinster have ended in defeat. 

Wonder what this man makes of it?

Billy Stickland / INPHO Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO

Chris Farrell tackles Andrew Porter. Billy Stickland / INPHO Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO

Half-time Leinster 3-10 Munster

David Hawkshaw misses a kick from a tight angle. Leinster have not played well at all. Munster will win this game if they show the right belief; stop coughing up stupid penalties and be a little calmer in possession.

Penalty awarded to Leinster. No card for O’Donoghue. 

Jack O’Donoghue’s clear out at the ruck is being checked out by Busby and TMO, Neville.

40 minutes Clock in the red. Scrum, Leinster. 

39 minutes, 30 seconds Leinster on the move; Ringrose, carries, then Lowe.

39 minutes Neither side have played well in attack although their respective defensive work has been impressive. Leinster went sideways in attack there. 

38 minutes Impressive carries by Scannell and Stander; Murray tries a clever grubber but it goes into touch.  Leinster on the charge now. 

36 minutes PENALTY MUNSTER (Carbery)

Carbery slots over an easy penalty.

Leinster 3-10 Munster

35 minutes Penalty reversed. Leinster get away with it; just as Munster looked like scoring. They have possession again, though – O’Mahony stealing Leinster’s throw. De Allende and Beirne make good carries and Scott Penny is penalised. Carbery will kick at the posts.

Yellow card to Archer. 

33 minutes After a series of mistakes, a scrappy line out from Munster; some abysmal handling from Leinster, Munster finally make ground, kicking deep into Leinster territory.

Beirne then takes advantage of a poor Leinster line-out to move towards the Leinster line. Jean Kleyn comes close to scoring but is stopped short.

Meanwhile, TMO Joy Neville is checking out Stephen Archer’s footwork at a ruck. James Ryan felt the brunt of the prop’s studs.

Referee, Chris Busby, is reviewing the footage. 

31 minutes That was brilliant defence from Munster; despite a few waves of Leinster attacks, they remained organised and blocked Garry Ringrose’s grubber kick. CJ Stander forces a penalty after Ringrose gets isolated trying to reclaim his kick.

30 minutes Damien De Allende has been excellent tonight and is fine to continue after receiving treatment from the medics.

Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO

28 minutes Dave Kilcoyne is penalised for not rolling away. Hawkshaw finds touch. After a decent lineout, O’Loughlin knocks on. Munster’s linespeed is very good. The intensity of the game is impressive; the handling errors are not. 

26 minutes Conor Murray’s boxkick goes out on the full; prior to that Joey Carbery kept running into traffic. Scott Penny’s linespeed saw him nick possession and hack the ball downfield. Meanwhile, Leinster have it again on halfway. 

Another handling error, this time by Rory O’Loughlin. The standard of handling so far tonight has been poor. 

23 minutes Munster cough up a cheap penalty in the Leinster 22; Jack O’Donoghue penalised for a side entry. They have coughed up five penalties so far.

22 minutes Some more kick tennis; Hugh O’Sullivan finds a decent touch from just inside his 22. Mike Haley playing solidly so far for Munster.

20 minutes Poor from Munster in that instance; Chris Farrell ran a clever line but fumbled in contact.

Munster are winning the majority of the collisions so far. 

19 minutes penalty awarded to Munster just inside the Leinster half. Carbery finds a good touch inside the Leinster 22. 

16 minutes A bit of kick-tennis there; Hawkshaw serves, Haley returns; Lowe stretches Munster’s defence and finds a good touch; Munster take the line-out quickly and then DeAllende screws his kick into touch.

Line-out to Leinster and they go on the attack but Hugh O’Sullivan knocks on. 

14 minutes A messy period of play there; Leinster lose a line-out, Tadhg Beirne stealing it; then Joey Carbery knocks on after a sloppy period of Munster back-play. Scrum, Leinster. 

Here is Murray’s try.

TRY:

5 mins:

Leinster 0-7 MUNSTER.

Munster score the opening try through Conor Murray, after Peter O'Mahony turns the ball over in midfield.

Joey Carberry kicks the conversion.#LEIvMUN #GuinnessPRO14RainbowCup pic.twitter.com/ezcNvPEk4A

— eir Sport (@eirSport) April 24, 2021

13 minutes Great defence from Munster there; Leinster won the line-out but CJ Stander and Jack O’Donoghue smothered Rory O’Loughlin. Munster win the scrum. 

11 minutes Leinster win a scrum penalty; Archer penalised. He doesn’t look too happy about it. Ed Byrne is fairly chuffed by the looks of it.

9 minutes (PENALTY, LEINSTER – Hawkshaw)

Dave Hawkshaw takes the chance

Leinster 3-7 Munster

8 minutes – penalty awarded to Leinster, nicely in front of the posts; and they decide to go for the three points

6 minutes – Leinster 0-7 Munster

Superb play from Munster; first from Peter O’Mahony to win a turnover; then Damien de Allende made a sizzling break, delaying his pass to Conor Murray until the appropriate moment. Murray’s timing was perfect and his try was backed up by Joey Carbery’s conversion. 

Harry Byrne has gone off with an injury; David Hawkshaw has come in to replace him.

5 minutes – TRY MUNSTER (Murray)

Billy Stickland / INPHO Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO

3 minutes 

Stephen Archer’s maul defence is superb; Munster win a penalty and then there is a tasty little scrap. Fair to say these fellahs don’t like one another.

2 minute – Conor Murray finds a good touch for Munster; Leinster find their man with their first line-out. After putting a bit of width on it, Jordan Larmour tries an offload which ends up in touch.

Penalty awarded to Leinster after Mike Haley’s tackle on Larmour was ruled illegal. Leinster kick to the corner.

We’re off and running.

Munster have arrived onto the field. They have picked a much stronger side than Leinster, who have experimented hugely.

They should win.

Shouldn’t they?

Leinster players complete their warm-up. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO

Gavin Coombes on the bench for Munster tonight. What are your thoughts?

Ciaran Kennedy will have a report for us at full-time from tonight’s game. He has the perfect vantage point at the RDS. 

Leinster v Munster (again). pic.twitter.com/B5QKnU3GPp

— Ciarán Kennedy (@CiaranKennedy_) April 24, 2021

Late changes for Leinster, Caelan Doris and Ciarán Frawley out. James Ryan starts, Ryan Baird moves to 6 and Josh Murphy to 8.

Back-row Martin Moloney in line for a debut off the bench, if he and Cormac Foley come on they'll be players 58 & 59 in 20 games this season pic.twitter.com/gSmDZSz9zq

— Rúaidhrí O'Connor (@RuaidhriOC) April 24, 2021

Here are your teams for tonight’s game.

Leinster:

15. Jordan Larmour
14. Dave Kearney
13. Garry Ringrose (captain)
12. Rory O’Loughlin
11. James Lowe
10. Harry Byrne
9. Hugh O’Sullivan

1. Ed Byrne
2. Dan Sheehan
3. Andrew Porter
4. Ross Molony
5. James Ryan
6. Ryan Baird
7. Scott Penny
8. Josh Murphy

Replacements: 

16. Seán Cronin
17. Peter Dooley
18. Michael Bent
19. Scott Fardy
20. Martin Moloney
21. Cormac Foley
22. David Hawkshaw
23. Tommy O’Brien

Munster: 

15. Mike Haley
14. Keith Earls
13. Chris Farrell
12. Damian de Allende
11. Shane Daly
10. Joey Carbery
9. Conor Murray

1. Dave Kilcoyne
2. Niall Scannell
3. Stephen Archer
4. Jean Kleyn
5. Tadhg Beirne
6. Peter O’Mahony (captain)
7. Jack O’Donoghue
8. CJ Stander

Replacements: 

16. Diarmuid Barron
17. Jeremy Loughman
18. Keynan Knox
19. Fineen Wycherley
20. Gavin Coombes
21. Craig Casey
22. Ben Healy
23. Calvin Nash

Referee: Chris Busby [IRFU].

Ross Molony has been speaking to eir Sport: “We are up against our biggest rivals at home in the RDS; it’s a sunny night and we are relishing this. We have built cohesion throughout the week and we are looking forward to getting stuck in. We love these games, these interpros. Last night’s game between Ulster and Connacht was hugely exciting. Let’s hope this is too.”

Peter O’Mahony to eir Sport, said: “We play to win. It is a massive game for us. We have prepared as well as we can. We want to play as well as we can.”

You have to wonder how this guy will get on tonight.

Billy Stickland / INPHO Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO

The Champions Cup is clearly where Leinster’s priorities lie and that game also serves as a major extra motivation for their players against Munster today. With a matchday 23 to be picked for the La Rochelle tie, a strong performance in the RDS today would be timely. For more of this read Murray Kinsella’s match-preview here

There are changes to the Leinster team. Caelan Doris has been ruled out with a calf injury; James Ryan moves up from the bench. He plays second row, with Ryan Baird moving to No6, Josh Murphy goes from No6 to No8.

Doris (calf) and Ciarán Frawley (hamstring) both pulled up at the Captain’s Run yesterday and have been ruled out as a precaution. Martin Moloney and
Hawkshaw come into the squad.

Hello and welcome to this evening’s liveblog as Munster travel to Dublin to take on Leinster at the RDS in their opening game of the Rainbow Cup.

Let us know who you think will win in the comments section below as Munster seek a much-needed win against their old rivals.