Munster's struggles continue as Leinster take bonus point at Thomond Park

Munster 7 Leinster 28

Leinster comfortably saw off the challenge of a depleted Munster side in their annual festive URC derby at Thomond Park last night, with the league leaders securing a bonus point to add icing to their Christmas cake.

Leinster won a penalty off a Munster scrum in Munster’s 22 in the ninth minute and, from the resultant lineout, the league leaders struck for the opening try.

Munster survived a couple of phases but, after a few carries, Leinster scrum-half Luke McGrath spotted that the home side had no left pillar in place at the base of a ruck and he sniped gleefully over the line to score.

After sustained Munster pressure on the Leinster line, winger Tommy O’Brien was sin-binned for persistent infringements in the 21st minute. Although soon after, captain Tadhg Beirne was held up under the Leinster posts — meaning Munster got nothing on the scoreboard for all their early enterprise.

With 14 men, Leinster made a second visit to Munster’s 22 and struck again, this time Sam Prendergast sauntering through a big gap in the Munster defensive line in the 33rd minute after the pack had battered away at the line for a considerable period.

Munster’s scrum was creaking, their lineout was malfunctioning, and with each mistake, you could see their confidence evaporate as Leinster went in at half-time leading 0-14 without having had to do a whole lot to take that lead.

Munster needed a fast start to the second half and, despite Leinster living offside blindside flanker Tom Ahern finished brilliantly in the 45th minute, with him stretching every inch of his 6' 9" frame to reach the whitewash.

Munster busted a gut to score that try, but once again Leinster scored an extremely simple try when Josh van der Flier received an illegal-looking pass from Joe McCarthy close to the Munster line to walk in a 54th-minute try, with the genesis of the try being another Munster scrum being completely dismantled by their counterparts.

Leinster got the bonus point try in the 74th minute as their captain, Caelan Doris, blasted over from close range to pile on the misery for Munster.

In the last plays of the game, replacement hooker Lee Barron was just about held up by Kieran Ryan to save even more Munster blushes.

Scorers for Munster: B Burns (1 con), T Ahern (1 try)

Leinster: S Prendergast (1 try, 3 cons), R Byrne (1 con), L McGrath, J van der Flier, C Doris (1 try each).

MUNSTER: M Haley; C Nash, T Farrell, R Scannell, S Daly; B Burns, E Coughlan; D Bleuler, N Scannell, O Jager; F Wycherley, T Beirne (c); T Ahern, A Kendellen, G Coombes.

Subs: E Clarke for N Scannell (22), N Scannell for E Clarke (36), J Hodnett for F Wycherley (40), P Patterson for E Coughlan (51), J Ryan for O Jager (54), B Gleeson and T Butler for A Kendellen and B Burns (65), E Clarke and K Ryan for N Scannell and D Bleuler (73). B O’Connor for M Haley (75).

LEINSTER: J Osborne, T O’Brien, G Ringrose, R Henshaw, J O’Brien, S Prendergast, L McGrath; J Boyle, R Kelleher, R Slimani, J McCarthy, J Ryan, R Baird, J van der Flier, C Doris (c).

Subs: A Porter for J Boyle (22), C Healy and F Gunne for R Slimani and L McGrath (52), L Barron and R Byrne for R Kelleher and S Prendergast (63), S Penny and J Larmour for J van der Flier and j O’Brien (73).

Referee: Sam Grove-White (SRU).