Byrne boots Leinster to wet and windy win

MATCH REPORT: Harry Byrne kicked Leinster to a 9-3 Christmas derby win over Munster at a wet and windy Thomond Park as they returned to the top of the United Rugby Championship.

A scrappy first half ended 6-0 in Leinster’s favour with Byrne booting two penalties and Munster keeping their try-line intact despite Craig Casey’s sin-binning.

Jack Crowley halved the deficit, yet Byrne put two misses behind him to land a last-minute winner from close range, in front of a 25,600-strong capacity crowd.

The result saw Leo Cullen’s men move back above Glasgow Warriors at the summit, while it is Munster’s second defeat of the season to their arch-rivals, coming on the back of a winless start to their Champions Cup campaign.

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Munster suffered a couple of early setbacks, losing captain Diarmuid Barron to injury after he had leaked the opening points to Byrne for sealing off.

Inexperienced hooker Eoghan Clarke, signed by Munster on a short-term deal, entered the fray before Byrne rewarded Andrew Porter’s breakdown work to make it 6-0 in the 15th minute.

Alex Nankivell’s impressive leg drive got Munster into scoring range, but Casey’s blindside break, midway through the first half, was foiled by a foot in touch.

Leinster pressed for the opening try off a quick counter attack, only for a bandaged-up Simon Zebo to thwart Luke McGrath’s attempted pass back inside.

It was tit-for-tat in the scrums, with Oli Jager, making his first Munster start, having a ding-dong battle with Ireland international Porter.

Leinster failed to profit from Casey’s yellow card – he took Jordan Larmour above the horizontal in a tackle – as Munster’s sharp maul defence dug them out of a hole.

Crowley, who briefly stepped in at scrumhalf, missed an early second half penalty, and Munster’s cruel run of luck of injuries continued when Edwin Edogbo was forced off.

A long-range 51st-minute strike from Crowley lifted the hosts, who defended smartly near their own line before watching Byrne hit the post with a penalty into the swirling wind.

The Leinster flyhalf pulled a second kick wide in the 63rd minute, but the visitors succeeded in disrupting Munster’s subsequent line-outs with replacement Ryan Baird a real nuisance.

Leinster’s six-two split on the bench was a factor late on as a couple of scrum penalties allowed them to grind out the result in testing conditions.

With Munster replacement Jeremy Loughman dispatched to the bin for a cynical offside, Byrne settled the issue from straight in front of the posts.

Play of the Match

Leinster showed their experience to close out this St. Stephen’s Day victory, with Ryan Baird, Dan Sheehan and replacement props Thomas Clarkson and Ed Byrne providing some timely impact. They won a big scrum penalty entering the final five minutes, and kept it tight with their carrying. Loughman then saw yellow, and a further scrum penalty set up Byrne to fire over his third penalty with the final kick of the game.

Player of the Match

This was an error-strewn encounter, with little in the way of free-flowing play. Simon Zebo showed some nice touches from full-back, and Tom Ahern continued his very good form at flank. In an attritional interprovincial clash, young Ireland lock Joe McCarthy stood out for his physicality. His maul defence was key at times, and he carried well throughout as the URC player-of-the-match.

The scorers

For Munster
Pen: Crowley

For Leinster
Pens: Byrne 3

Yellow cards: Craig Casey (Munster, 30), Jeremy Loughman (Munster, 78)

Teams:

Munster: 15 Simon Zebo, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Antoine Frisch, 12 Alex Nankivell, 11 Shane Daly, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Jack O’Donoghue, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Tom Ahern, 5 Gavin Coombes, 4 Edwin Edogbo, 3 Oli Jager, 2 Diarmuid Barron (captain), 1 Dave Kilcoyne.
Replacements: 16 Eoghan Clarke, 17 Jeremy Loughman, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Brian Gleeson, 20 Alex Kendellen, 21 Paddy Patterson, 22 Tony Butler, 23 Seán O’Brien

Leinster: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Jordan Larmour, 13 Garry Ringrose (captain), 12 Ciarán Frawley, 11 Rob Russell, 10 Harry Byrne, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Scott Penny, 6 Max Deegan, 5 Joe McCarthy, 4 Ross Molony, 3 Michael Ala’alatoa, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter.
Replacements: 16 Dan Sheehan, 17 Ed Byrne, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Jason Jenkins, 20 Ryan Baird, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Liam Turner, 23 Will Connors.

Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Peter Martin (Ireland), Andrew Cole (Ireland)
TMO: Brian McNeice (Ireland)