Doris Catches The Eye As Leinster End Munster’s Challenge

Leinster will have a shot at a third successive Guinness PRO14 title after beating Munster 13-3 in a cagey semi-final at the Aviva Stadium.

As It Happened: Leinster v Munster Live Blog

22-year-old back rower Caelan Doris delivered an eye-catching player-of-the-match performance as Leinster advanced to their ninth PRO14 final in 11 years. They will face Ulster, the 22-19 conquerors of Edinburgh, at the Aviva Stadium next Saturday (kick-off 7.35pm).

Ronan Kelleher’s 27th-minute maul score proved to be the only try of tonight’s scrappy contest, with Leo Cullen’s men breaking into a 10-3 lead by the interval.

Ever-influential captain Jonathan Sexton kicked the other points, in response to an early JJ Hanrahan penalty. and it was a sweetly-struck Sexton penalty, 13 minutes from time, which neatly sealed Leinster’s fifth successive semi-final win in all competitions.

Narrow two-point losers of the provinces’ last meeting a fortnight ago, Munster grasped a fifth-minute lead this time with Hanrahan’s right boot rewarding a CJ Stander turnover penalty.

Sexton was narrowly wide with a 10th-minute attempt from around halfway, before the Leinster skipper led a choke tackle which suffocated a promising carry by Damian de Allende.

Having turned down a couple of long-range place-kicks in greasy conditions, Munster were unable to profit from a solid lineout platform and Leinster soon made them pay.

Seizing the initiative, Sexton’s long raking kick forced Keith Earls into an error. Now deep in the opposition 22, the Leinster pack squeezed Kelleher over for his try, the young hooker brought to ground but managing to stretch out for the line and get the TMO’s confirmation.

Sexton’s pinpoint conversion was followed by a penalty right on half-time for a seven-point buffer. While Munster full-back Shane Daly impressed with his aerial takes, the Leinster forwards increased their influence with strong carrying by Jack Conan and Cian Healy.

Already missing some key men through injury, Munster’s in-form winger Andrew Conway was unfortunately sidelined early in the second half with Rory Scannell, their only outside back on the bench, replacing him.

Leinster continued to look the more threatening, James Lowe going close from Garry Ringrose’s kick through before the industrious Doris powered forward up the right wing.

Munster’s frustration grew as a crucial penalty was reversed for Daly impeding Lowe in the air, and a few minutes later, Devin Toner pinched their lineout. Hanrahan, the PRO14’s Golden Boot winner, also pushed two penalty efforts wide either side of the hour mark.

In contrast, Sexton’s final act of his 100th PRO14 appearance was to drill over a hugely important penalty from the right. It was Doris who did the donkey work to win the breakdown decision against a tackled Tadhg Beirne.

Munster built for a late onslaught and replacement Josh van der Flier’s 75th-minute sin-binning for not releasing offered them a chink of light, but the reigning champions’ composed defence ensured a scoreless end-game.

Giving his reaction afterwards, Leinster head coach Cullen said: “The match itself I thought was pretty brutal. You’ve got to be very accurate against a team when all they want to do is box kick and apply that pressure game. It wasn’t a great spectacle out there. A semi-final for us is about getting through to a final.

“For some of our guys there, it’s the second game of the season, off the back of five or six months off. We’re through to the next round. Pretty ugly stuff, ugly contest but we’re through. Munster probably missed a couple of chances in the game. We’ll watch with great interest how Edinburgh and Ulster go tomorrow.”

He added: “Caelan was really good. Dynamic in the carry and really hungry for work. It was pleasing for Caelan. Still a young player coming through. He has come back with the bit between his teeth, so to speak. It was a good performance from him I thought, against a good quality back row from Munster.”

Disappointed with the chances that Munster left behind them, Johann van Graan commented: “You get limited opportunities in a semi-final and we didn’t convert our opportunities. As a group, we win together and we lose together. We’ll take those penalties as a group.

“I felt we built a lot of pressure between the 50th and the 65th minutes. We didn’t convert those chances and then Leinster went down the other side of the pitch and went 13-3 up.”