Doris Leads Leinster To Derby Win In Front Of Record League Crowd

Leinster showed exactly why they are the BKT United Rugby Championship pacesetters with a well-judged 26-12 bonus point win over Munster at Croke Park.

A record league crowd of 80,468 watched these arch rivals battle it out at GAA HQ for the second time in 15 years, albeit that injuries meant Munster were not at full strength.

Leo Cullen’s men blitzed their way to a first half bonus point, with Springbok lock RG Snyman scoring against his former team on the stroke of half-time.

Tries from James Lowe, captain and player-of-the-match Caelan Doris, and Hugo Keenan – all inside the opening quarter of an hour – had the hosts in control.

Resilient Munster put Emerging Ireland’s Sean O’Brien over in the 34th minute, having had an earlier Calvin Nash effort ruled out.

Gavin Coombes supplied his second assist when the industrious Mike Haley touched down with 15 minutes remaining, but there were no further scores. Leinster’s Ross Byrne and Ciarán Frawley both missed penalties late on.

Munster probed with the boot during the early stages, quickly getting wingers O’Brien and Nash involved and putting in some searching kicks. Doris launched Leinster forward with a turnover penalty and they immediately profited.

Snyman was prominent in the lineout, including an eye-catching one-handed take, and a pacy attack, which saw Frawley go close from a Jamie Osborne offload, ended with Lowe crossing from a long Jamison Gibson-Park pass.

Frawley nailed the difficult conversion, and a James Ryan lineout steal robbed Munster of a decent platform to respond.

Leinster soon flooded forward through Liam Turner on the right wing, the pressure resulting in Doris spinning out of a Jack Crowley tackle to ground the ball beside the posts.

As well as Frawley putting 14 points between the sides, Munster had to cope with some untimely disruption to their front row. Both of their hookers were briefly off the field at the same time, with Academy prop Kieran Ryan brought on.

Leinster pressed from a couple of mauls before Keenan cruised in behind the posts in the 14th minute, via some slick passing from Osborne and Frawley.

The visitors, who were impressive 23-0 winners over the Ospreys last week, missed a long-range penalty in response, the woodwork just denying Crowley’s well-struck effort.

Ryan pinched a second Munster throw, but a free-flowing break involving the excellent Tom Farrell, Craig Casey, and the returning Alex Nankivell ignited the Reds’ attack, entering the second quarter.

Nash missed out on a well-worked try when Nankivell’s scooped pass was adjudged forward by referee Chris Busby. Exchanging scrum penalties, Munster came hunting again, with Farrell to the fore before Gibson-Park got his hand to a Crowley pass.

The visitors’ patched-up front row forced another scrum penalty, and a clever lineout move delivered an unconverted try. Jean Kleyn tapped the ball down to Coombes whose inside pass sent O’Brien surging over from close range.

However, Leinster had the final say just before the break. Munster leaked two penalties, and the home side took the tap option on both occasions, the second one building momentum for Snyman to crash over past John Ryan and Casey.

Strong-running centre Farrell continued to look the most likely to prize an opening, although Doris, who snapped up an important turnover, and Garry Ringrose manned a Leinster defence that scrambled well.

Even when Tadhg Beirne grabbed a trademark turnover and O’Brien beat Turner and Andrew Porter, thr winger’s pass was intercepted by Osborne. Nash was an ever-willing runner, yet Munster were unable to get him into dangerous positions.

Farrell was Munster’s bright spark again, approaching the hour mark. His slashing break from halfway almost created a try for Nankivell, and frustratingly when they moved the ball back to the opposite wing, O’Brien threw a forward pass.

Osborne shunted Nankivell back with a big tackle, and Leinster’s counter-rucking won a clearing penalty. As play swung back towards Hill 16, Haley did well to reach a Gibson-Park kick ahead of Lowe, as Cullen’s charges almost created an opportunist fifth try.

Boosted by a Beirne turnover penalty and Conor Murray’s break from a lineout, Munster finally converted their possession into points to give them a shot at taking something home with them.

With Leinster exposed in the back-field, number 8 Coombes dinked a brilliantly-weighted kick in behind for full-back Haley to ground the ball. Crowley’s conversion made it a 14-point game.

Replacement Ross Byrne was narrowly wide with a penalty attempt, as Leinster tried to avoid a scoreless second half for the second week running. Frawley then hit the left hand post with a kick from slightly further out, but it did not affect the outcome.