Quite simply, today marks the latest instalment in one of rugby’s oldest and fiercest rivalries – Munster versus Leinster. A sold out, increased capacity Thomond Park plays host to the top two sides in the Guinness PRO14, with bucketloads of bragging rights, family history and intense rivalry on the line. Something is going to have to give, Munster are rarely beaten at the Limerick venue – unbeaten in the last 21 – but Leinster are in fearsome form having won their last 14 in all competitions and five of the last six between the two provinces. The rivalry dates back to 1879, the year of founding of the provincial sides, with games played every year since the inception of the Irish Interprovincial Championship in 1946. Since that year Leinster hold a slight advantage with 51 wins to Munster’s 43, with five draws in that time, but of course the story is always deeper than purely numbers. https://twitter.com/leinsterrugby/status/1210892302295666689?s=20 Many a story is retold year after year of this rivalry - in the 2001 then Celtic League final Leinster’s Eric Miller kicked Anthony Foley in the nether regions, despite standing next to the referee. The two provinces have inevitably met in Europe too, Munster famously defeating Leinster 30-6 at Lansdowne Road in a European Cup semi-final in 2006 on the way to winning the title. The Leinstermen got their revenge in front of over 82,000 spectators at Croke Park in 2009, Alan Quinlan missing the subsequent British & Irish Lions tour of South Africa due to a few hi-jinks in that one. A few months later John Hayes saw red for a boot to Cian Healy’s eyebrow while in 2013 Paul O’Connell escaped a citing for a ‘fly-hacking’ not too far from Dave Kearney. These games are always leave everything on the pitch, as we’ve seen in the last two encounters. Leinster 24-9 Munster – Guinness PRO14 semi-final – May 2019 Sean Cronin’s try ensured Leinster earned a shot at successive Guinness PRO14 titles, as his side beat Munster 24-9 to set up that final against Glasgow Warriors, which they went on to win. A lung-busting semi-final at the RDS Arena went the way of the hosts thanks to a second-half score from the hooker, involving fine handling in the backline by his front-row colleagues Tadhg Furlong and Cian Healy. Twelve points from the boot of Ross Byrne and a late James Lowe try made sure it was Leinster who played for the trophy at Celtic Park. Munster 26-17 Leinster – Guinness PRO14 – December 2018 A rampant Munster side handed then defending Guinness PRO14 champions Leinster only their second defeat of the season last December as they claimed a dramatic 26-17 interprovincial derby win. Tries from Chris Cloete and Keith Earls, along with 14 points from Joey Carbery and a conversion from Tyler Bleyendaal saw the hosts maintain their unbeaten home record in 2018. Leinster, who were reduced to 14 men after James Lowe saw red on the half-hour mark, closed the deficit with second-half tries from James Tracy and Max Deegan. But it was not enough to rescue the result as the visitors, who also had Cian Healy and Tadhg Furlong sin-binned in the first 30 minutes, lost their seven-game unbeaten streak.
