Munster take spoils in Irish derby

Ronan O'Mahony's try with the clock in the red at the end of the first half was perhaps the big turning point of the match, giving the hosts a 14-10 lead at the interval after Simon Zebo had cancelled out Zane Kirchner's opening score.

And two more Munster tries before the hour mark from Tommy O'Donnell and Christiaan Stander were decisive, meaning Richardt Strauss late effort was no more than a consolation, and ending a run of three consecutive losses to their fierce Irish rivals.

Despite a fast and furious start to the game at a Thomond Park that was rocking with noise, there was no score for the opening ten minutes with both sides demonstrating big carries and sturdy defence.

Tadhg Furlong's run took Leinster into Munster territory again in the 13th minute, and after a penalty allowed Ross Byrne to kick to the corner, the visitors opened the scoring.

The boys in blue controlled the scrum expertly before Jack Conan's carry from the base allowed Kirchner to burst through off Jamison Gibson-Park's pass with 18 minutes played.

Isa Nacewa added the extras, but Munster then began immediately build the pressure in Leinster territory, and patient play saw them go through the phases to get themselves level.

Connor Murray eventually fed Zebo on the right touchline after Tyler Bleyendaal was denied, and the Ireland international twisted and dived over under pressure from Barry Daly and Conan.

The try was confirmed via the TMO, and while Bleyendaal made it 7-7 with the conversion, Nacewa was on target again from the tee on 25 minutes to put Leinster back ahead after a neck roll on Furlong.

The game then turned slightly scrappier, but once again Munster began to look the more threatening and Leinster were forced to doggedly defend.

But while they came within a whisker of surviving until half-time, it was not to be as the hosts' patience once again paid dividends.

Another move where Munster went through the phases – 21 of them in total – ended in O'Mahony diving over in the right corner with the clock in the red, after Bleyendaal's pass skipped out Darren Sweetnam.

Bleyendaal's conversion from exactly the same spot as his first made it 14-10 at the break, but it was a different story in the second half where Munster imposed themselves on their guests.

After several minutes camped deep inside Leinster territory, with penalty advantage Murray's cross-field kick allowed O'Donnell beat Daly in the air and get the ball down over the whitewash after a slight juggle in the 50th minute.

But it was just six minutes later when Rassie Erasmus' side struck what proved to be the killer blow from a line-out and subsequent five-metre driving maul, with the pack forcing Stander over for a bonus-point score.

Bleyendaal's first miss of the afternoon meant the score stayed at 26-10, and even though Zebo then saw his drop-goal attempt miss the target on the hour mark, he was playing advantage and the flyhalf landed a three-pointer.

And while it was Munster who were hammering away at the line again in the next ten minutes, Leinster were not down and out and Strauss gave them some hope of at least a bonus point when he broke off a line-out maul with Nacewa adding the extras.

But there was not enough time for Leo Cullen's men to find another try, and the 29-17 scoreline meant Munster pulled out a five-point lead at the Pro12 summit.

The scorers:

For Munster:

Tries: Zebo, O'Donnell, Stander, O'Mahony

Cons: Bleyendaal 3

Pen: Bleyendaal

For Leinster:

Tries: Kirchner, Strauss

Cons: Nacewa, Molony

Pen: Nacewa

Teams:

Munster: 15 Simon Zebo, 14 Darren Sweetnam, 13 Jaco Taute, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Ronan O’Mahony, 10 Tyler Bleyendaal, 9 Conor Murray, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Tommy O’Donnell, 6 Peter O’Mahony (captain), 5 Donnacha Ryan, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 John Ryan, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 James Cronin.

Replacements: 16 Rhys Marshall, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Billy Holland, 20 Jack O’Donoghue, 21 Duncan Williams, 22 Francis Saili, 23 Andrew Conway.

Leinster: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Isa Nacewa (captain), 13 Rory O’Loughlin, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Barry Daly, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park 8 Jack Conan, 7 Dan Leavy, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 Mike McCarthy, 4 Ross Molony, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 James Tracy, 1 Cian Healy.

Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Michael Bent, 19 Ian Nagle, 20 Dominic Ryan, 21 Charlie Rock, 22 Noel Reid, 23 Tom Daly.

Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)

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