Munster upset Leinster to hand Stormers a home Final
URC REPORT: The Stormers will host another URC Final after Munster edged Leinster 16-15 in a bruising semifinal in Dublin on Saturday.
Jack Crowley was the hero for Munster as he produced a match-winning drop goal in the 78th minute to edge it for his team.
The team from Limerick will now book their flights to Cape Town where they will face the Stormers at Cape Town Stadium on May 27.
The Stormers booked their place in the Grand Final with a 43-25 win over Connacht earlier in the day.
In a tense opening quarter, Leinster opened the scoring with a Harry Byrne penalty in the second minute.
Munster eventually levelled matters with a penalty of their own in the 10th minute. Flyhalf Ben Healy was the man on target.
Leinster thought they scored the opening try in the 20th of the game when lock Ryan Baird pounced on a loose ball before racing away to the tryline. However, the TMO spotted a knock-on by a Leinster player before Baird got possession.
Instead, it was Munster who took the lead in the 24th minute with another Healy penalty.
Munster had several try-scoring opportunities to increase their lead, but they lost the ball in crucial areas deep inside Leinster’s 22.
Those missed opportunities came back to hurt Munster even more when Leinster had the final say of the first half when Springbok lock Jason Jenkins sprinted away for a try after a neat offload from Robbie Henshaw.
Byrne add the extra two points with the conversion and at half-time it was 10-6 to Leinster.
📈 | The key stats from the #LEIvMUN game brought to you by @LayaHealthcare.#ABeatAhead #LeinsterRugby pic.twitter.com/UaptG5GfAc
— Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby) May 13, 2023
Munster dominated possession in the opening minutes of the second half and after sustained pressure, they took the lead with Tadhg Beirne powering over Leinster’s tryline from close range.
Jack Crowley made it a three-point lead with the conversion.
Munster continued to apply pressure inside Leinster’s half but they just could not find a way through a brutal defence. Munster also turned down a few kickable penalties.
When it was Leinster’s turn to attack, they made full use of their opportunity and after numerous phases, Joe McCarthy stretched over the tryline.
Ciarán Frawley took over the kicking duties but he failed with his conversion attempt.
With the clock winding down, Leinster seemed to have the momentum but it was Munster who had the final say when Crowley produced a fantastic drop goal to clinch the win for his team.
Player of the Match
There were many candidates in Munster red, but for his composure at crucial stages and his play-making ability to start at inside centre and slot in at number 10 too, Jack Crowley was deservedly the URC player of the match.
The Cork man even produced a cheeky finger-wag celebration, no doubt a nod to Ronan O’Gara who did likewise when scoring a try against Leinster at the old Lansdowne Road back in 2006. That was the last time Leinster had lost a semifinal of any kind to Irish opponents.
Play of the Match
Defences were on top for long spells of this absorbing interprovincial derby, but Munster’s superior phase-building shone through during that exhaustive second half.
Trailing 6-10 and having been wasteful with their try-scoring chances, the sight of Beirne surging over the line – with Stephen Archer and Diarmuid Barron in tow – gave the underdogs a massive lift.
The scorers:
For Leinster:
Tries: Jenkins, McCarthy
Con: Byrne
Pen: Byrne
For Munster:
Try: Beirne
Con: Crowley
Pens: Healy 2
DG: Crowley
Teams:
Leinster: 15 Jimmy O’Brien, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Charlie Ngatai, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Harry Byrne, 9 Luke McGrath (captain), 8 Jack Conan, 7 Will Connors, 6 Max Deegan, 5 Jason Jenkins, 4 Ryan Baird, 3 Michael Ala’alatoa, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Michael Milne.
Replacements: 16 John McKee, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Joe McCarthy, 20 Josh van der Flier, 21 Nick McCarthy, 22 Ciarán Frawley, 23 Liam Turner.
Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Keith Earls, 13 Antoine Frisch, 12 Jack Crowley, 11 Shane Daly, 10 Ben Healy, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Peter O’Mahony (captain), 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Diarmuid Barron, 1 Jeremy Loughman.
Replacements: 16 Niall Scannell, 17 Josh Wycherley, 18 Roman Salanoa, 19 Fineen Wycherley, 20 Jack O’Donoghue, 21 Neil Cronin, 22 Rory Scannell, 23 Alex Kendellen.
Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Andrew Brace (Ireland) & Chris Busby (Ireland)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Player and Play of the Match provided by @URCOfficial
