Leinster dealt Munster a fifth straight loss in all competitions, as they leapfrogged them into the GUINNESS PRO12 play-off places with a 24-7 win at Thomond Park. A try in each half from Isa Nacewa and Jack McGrath proved enough for Leinster, despite the best efforts of Anthony Foley’s team. The icing on the cake was provided by Zane Kirchner with a last-gasp interception as Munster pushed for a losing bonus point to seal the win. And as a result, Leinster, who started the season slowly, are now settled in the top four heading into 2016. Leinster made a dream start to the game with a try made by young centre Garry Ringrose. After receiving the ball from Sean O’Brien, Ringrose showed his searing pace to race away from the Munster defence before finding Nacewa on his inside shoulder to go under the posts. Ian Madigan converted and Leinster led 7-0 after just five minutes. Munster should have got on the board when they earned a kickable penalty, but Rory Scannell was off-target with his effort. And Leinster made them pay when O’Brien then won a penalty at the breakdown for the visitors, with Madigan stretching the lead to 10-0. Munster were then dealt a blow when James Cronin was forced off with a nasty-looking injury and it would get worse later on when Keith Earls was stretchered off late in the half. Despite having some chances, Munster were struggling to break through and looked a team low on confidence. But a try in the closing stages of the half got them right back in it. A powerful charge from No.8 Copeland was enough for the Leinster defence to finally succumb, with Scannell adding the simple conversion to make it 10-7 at the break. Having scored the opening try in the first half, Nacewa was very involved in the opening score of the second. His break put Leinster in good position and after a series of pick and drives, McGrath got low enough to drive over. Madigan converted to make it a two-score game. The game was evenly-poised, and despite dominating possession and territory, Munster’s struggles at the breakdown made a comeback difficult. However they threw everything at their visitors and in the closing stages a try looked to be coming as Leinster were forced back. But time and again, a Leinster back rower was on hand to earn the turnover and make it impossible for Munster to gain any momentum. And in the final seconds of the game, Francis Saili tried an ambitious wide pass which was easily picked off by Kirchner, who raced the length of the pitch to score. To buy tickets for the GUINNESS PRO12 Grand Final click here. Also follow us on Facebook, join the conversation on Twitter, sign up to our YouTube channel for extensive match highlights and sign up for our newsletter for regular updates on the GUINNESS PRO12.
