Snyman concern as Munster shock Leinster at Croke Park

MATCH REPORT: A heroic defensive display by Munster helped them secure a 31-14 win against Leinster at Croke Park in the United Rugby Championship.

The result leaves Munster unbeaten so far in the URC, whilst Leinster suffered their third defeat of the season.

There will be concerns regarding Springbok lock RG Snyman, who went off injured in the 43rd minute, considering South Africa’s upcoming end-of-year tour in November.

*To recap all the action, CLICK HERE!

Leinster got on the scoreboard first in the fifth minute of the match through Ronan Kelleher, with Sam Prendergast adding the conversion.

Munster opened their account through Brian Gleeson in the 16th minute, followed by Tom Farrell in the 23rd minute. Jack Crowley converted both scores.

Leinster looked to be in a position to strike back late in the first half, but Ethan Coughlan read the pass of Jamison Gibson-Park to perfection and intercepted it to race away under the posts and stretch the lead to 21-7 following Crowley’s conversion.

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Crowley slotted a penalty to extend Munster’s lead in the 48th minute.

Leinster camped in Munster’s half for the better part after Crowley’s penalty, but Munster’s defence was simply heroic to keep their rivals up.

The hosts were held up over the line twice and turned the ball over from a Leinster feed.

The onslaught continued, but Munster won a penalty at the breakdown, leaving Leinster empty-handed after spending over 10 minutes in the opposition half.

Leinster’s misfortune continued late in the match when Ciaran Frawley’s cynical try-saving tackle led to a penalty try and a yellow card to the replacement playmaker.

The score also secured Munster’s bonus point.

More drama followed with seconds to spare when Gavin Coombes was yellow-carded for deliberately slowing down Leinster’s ball in the red zone.

Leinster had the final say on the stroke of full-time through a try by Scott Penny, which Prendergast converted, but it’s Munster who walked away with the scalp and full house of points.

Scorers

For Leinster:
Tries: Kelleher, Penny
Cons: Prendergast 2

For Munster:
Tries: Gleeson, Farrell, Coughlan. Penalty try does not require a conversion.
Cons: Crowley 3
Pens: Crowley

Yellow cards: Ciarán Frawley (Leinster, 77′- Cynical foul: preventing try from being scored from an offside position), Gavin Coombes (Munster, 79′ – Cynical foul: deliberately slowing the ball down in the red zone)

Teams

Leinster: 15 Jamie Osborne, 14 Jordan Larmour, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 James Lowe, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Max Deegan, 7 Josh van der Flier (captain), 6 Alex Soroka, 5 James Ryan, 4 RG Snyman, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Paddy McCarthy.
Replacements: 16 Dan Sheehan, 17 Andrew Porter, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Brian Deeny, 20 Scott Penny, 21 Fintan Gunne, 22 Ciarán Frawley, 23 Jimmy O’Brien.

Munster: 15 Shane Daly, 14 Andrew Smith, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Dan Kelly, 11 Thaakir Abrahams, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Ethan Coughlan, 8 Brian Gleeson, 7 Jack O’Donoghue, 6 Tadhg Beirne (captain), 5 Fineen Wycherley, 4 Edwin Edogbo, 3 John Ryan, 2 Diarmuid Barron, 1 Michael Milne.
Replacements: 16 Lee Barron, 17 Jeremy Loughman, 18 Ronan Foxe, 19 Jean Kleyn, 20 Gavin Coombes, 21 Paddy Patterson, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 Alex Nankivell.

Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Peter Martin (Ireland), Jonny Erskine (Ireland)
TMO: Stefano Penne (Italy)