Unbeaten Leinster race clear at the top

MATCH REPORT: Leinster claimed the festive derby spoils at a sold-out Thomond Park, winning 28-7 to hand Munster only their second home United Rugby Championship defeat of 2024.

Sam Prendergast took his chance to impress in the absence of his Ireland flyhalf rival Jack Crowley, who missed the derby in line with IRFU player management guidelines.

Player-of-the-match Prendergast slipped through for a 32nd-minute try, adding to an early Luke McGrath effort, to establish a 14-0 half-time lead despite Tommy O’Brien’s yellow card.

The 26,267 crowd watched Tom Ahern and Josh van der Flier swap scores, before captain Caelan Doris piled over with seven minutes remaining to extend Leinster’s winning run this season to 11 games.

Having been involved in a smart initial break involving Jamie Osborne, there was no stopping McGrath in the eighth minute. He sniped over from a ruck with Prendergast converting.

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Munster had a purple patch midway through the first half with three tap penalties in quick succession. Skipper Tadhg Beirne was held up after O’Brien was sin-binned for repeated team infringements.

Leinster were clinical on the half-hour mark despite being a man down. A bout of forward pressure ended with Prendergast darting in between Tom Farrell and Shane Daly to double their lead.

Individual errors were proving costly for Munster who were also without the injured Peter O’Mahony and Conor Murray, and both Craig Casey and Jean Kleyn who underwent surgery last week for knee and thigh injuries respectively.

Nonetheless, the leaders’ poor discipline moved the penalty count to 11-3 early on the resumption, and Munster finally took advantage.

The athletic Ahern reached out for the tryline following replacement John Hodnett’s well-timed pass. Billy Burns curled the conversion over.

Leinster managed to quickly silence the home fans, in response. A powerful scrum forced a penalty, and van der Flier crossed from the back of a ruck, allowing Prendergast to make it 21-7.

Van der Flier and Joe McCarthy stood out during a scrappy finale.

A well-supported Doris muscled over for the bonus point try, converted by replacement Ross Byrne.

Replacement Lee Barron was also held up during a strong Leinster finish.

The scorers

For Munster
Try: Ahern
Con: Burns

For Leinster
Tries: McGrath, Prendergast, van der Flier, Doris
Cons: Prendergast 3, R Byrne

Yellow card: Tommy O’Brien (Leinster, 21)

Teams:

Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Shane Daly, 10 Billy Burns, 9 Ethan Coughlan, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 Alex Kendellen, 6 Tom Ahren, 5 Tadgh Beirne (captain), 4 Fineen Wycherley, 3 Oli Jager, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Dian Bleuler.
Replacements: 16 Diarmuid Barron, 17 Kieran Ryan, 18 John Ryan, 19 Brian Gleeson, 20 John Hodnett, 21 Paddy Patterson, 22 Tony Butler, 23 Ben O’Connor.

Leinster: 15 Jamie Osborne, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Jimmy O’Brien, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Caelan Doris (captain), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Ryan Baird, 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Ronan Kelleher, 1 Jack Boyle.
Replacements: 16 Lee Barron, 17 Andrew Porter, 18 Cian Healy, 19 Brian Deeny, 20 Scott Penny, 21 Fintan Gunne, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Jordan Lamour.

Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Keane Davison (Ireland) and Chris Lough (Ireland)
TMO: Mike Adamson (Scotland)