Topsy-Turvy ‘A’ Interpro Opener Ends In Exciting Draw

IRFU MEN’S ‘A’ INTERPROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIP – ROUND 1:

Saturday, October 18 –

LEINSTER ‘A’ 26 MUNSTER ‘A’ 26, Ollie Campbell Park, Old Belvedere RFC
Scorers: Leinster ‘A’: Tries: John McKee, Caspar Gabriel, Penalty try, Josh Kenny; Cons: Caspar Gabriel 2, Pen try con
Munster ‘A’: Tries: Shay McCarthy 2, Luke Murphy, Kamil Nowak; Cons: Tony Butler 3
HT: Leinster ‘A’ 19 Munster ‘A’ 0

Leinster ‘A’ looked poised to begin their title defence with a bonus point win at Old Belvedere RFC, until their Munster counterparts matched their four-try haul with a thunderous finish.

A well-taken solo score from Caspar Gabriel, sandwiched by John McKee’s maul effort and a penalty try, gave Simon Broughton’s side a 19-0 lead after what was quite a stop-start opening 40 minutes.

Fresh from his senior debut for Leinster last week, Josh Kenny used Charlie Tector’s tap penalty and pass to sprint clear for a slick bonus point try, before Shay McCarthy returned from the sin bin.

Munster ‘A’ McCarthy made amends with snappy tries after 63 and 75 minutes, with Luke Murphy also crossing and the increasingly-influential Tony Butler landing all three conversions to suddenly put the result in doubt.

Leinster ‘A’ still led 26-21 late on, but the penalties were stacking up against them and replacement Jerry Cahir saw yellow. A bout of forward pressure ended with Kamil Nowak drawing Munster ‘A’ level, although Butler was narrowly wide with his kick to win it.

The ‘A’ Interprovincial Series continues next month when City of Armagh RFC is the venue for the meeting of Ulster ‘A’ and Connacht Eagles. Their opening match of the campaign will kick off at 3pm at the Palace Grounds on Friday, November 21.

Despite Max Clein’s early rip in the tackle, Leinster ‘A’ got off to the stronger start. Andrew Osborne went close to scoring from a Gabriel cross-field kick, before captain McKee made it over from a third-minute lineout drive.

Gabriel swung over the difficult conversion, and the pace of the game lifted as McKee and Kieran Ryan traded turnovers. Fionn Gibbons gobbled up a garryowen from Butler to get Munster ‘A’ on the march.

A Ben O’Connor knock-on spoilt a promising move out wide, and although a subsequent penalty took Munster ‘A’ into the opposition 22 for the first time, they failed to take advantage of two maul opportunities.

A couple of forward passes halted the home side’s progress, midway through the first half. Ireland Under-20 international Eoghan Smyth unfortunately had go off having injured himself when tackling Will Connors.

Playing with a penalty advantage in the 25th minute, Gabriel seized his chance from 40 metres out. Released by Oliver Coffey, he embarked on a slaloming run, evading two tackles and showing good speed and strength to score, despite Jack O’Riordan’s challenge.

With the young out-half’s conversion narrowly missing, it remained 12-0. Connors and James Culhane increased their influence as ball carriers, regularly bringing the reigning champions over the gainline.

McCarthy got a first chance to stretch his legs in attack, as Munster ‘A’ whipped lineout possession across to the opposite wing. The fleet-footed 22-year-old shrugged off Kenny to make it up into the 22.

Knock-ons and penalties made for a scrappy spell, Leinster ‘A’ went to the right corner after two decisions had gone their way. A third saw them awarded a penalty try for Munster ‘A’ illegally bringing down a maul, with McCarthy shown a yellow too.

Leinster ‘A’ scrum half Coffey broke menacingly in search of a fourth try, although Billy Corrigan’s ruck clearout was too far for French referee Evan Urruzmendi’s liking. A well-won Clein turnover also lifted Munster ‘A’ heading into the break.

Turning around with the wind behind them, the Munstermen gained ground through replacement Danny Sheahan and Murphy. However, when Stephen Smyth won the breakdown battle for a penalty, Tector’s quick thinking unlocked the visitors’ defence.

The Wexford man scooped up the ball and tapped it, darting up to halfway before releasing Kenny. The Ireland Sevens international beat Darragh McSweeney on the outside, and broke away from Jed O’Dwyer’s attempted tackle to score in front of the watching Leo Cullen.

Munster ‘A’ were back to their full complement following Gabriel’s third conversion of the afternoon. Leinster ‘A’ hooker Smyth caught the eye again with a deft pass behind his back, and then popped up on the left wing a few phases later to make good metres.

Nonetheess, when Butler blasted a kick downfield, Gene O’Leary Kareem and Oisín Minogue made sure they were first to the breakdown. A handling error prevented Munster ‘A’ from building phases in attack, but the template was there.

Leinster ‘A’ could not capitalise on a second successive scrum penalty, with Smyth whistled up for a crooked lineout throw. In response, Butler’s right boot was becoming a key weapon for the men in red, getting his pack into the right areas of the field.

Back in Munster red, fit-again prop Roman Salanoa got in a good position at the breakdown to force a penalty. A free-kick at the resulting saw skipper Evan O’Connell and replacement Alex Lautsou both make carries, but Culhane then pounced on a loose ball.

Leinster ‘A’ had to replace Gabriel on the hour mark, with the Academy youngster injurying himself in a tackle from Nowak. Butler used a subsequent scrum to loft a kick out to the left where McCarthy nimbly gathered the ball on the bounce to open his team’s account.

Butler made it a full seven-pointer before Gibbons, reacting swiftly to a Sheahan turnover, produced a fine 50:22 kick. The tide was seemingly turning.

Connor Fahy gave away a penalty, moving the lineout closer and the Munster ‘A’ maul did a little bit of damage before number 8 Murphy charged over impressively, just to the left of the posts. Butler added the extras for a 26-14 scoreline.

Prendergast’s team were playing with increasing urgency now, a scrum penalty leading to another period of pressure on the home defence. Just when Butler looked poised to kick a penalty to the corner, he tapped it and put the ball through the hands.

Salanoa’s looping pass was crucial in giving impactful replacement John Poland the time and space to fire the ball out to Gene O’Leary Kareem who put McCarthy over near the left corner. Butler’s classy conversion made it a five-point game at 26-21.

With time ticking away, the Ennis native’s boot found grass in behind Andrew Osborne, leading to a lineout outside the hosts’ 22. Diarmuid Mangan was guilty of not rolling away fast enough, and Sheahan kept Munster ‘A’ on course by tidying up a loose lineout ball.

In a gripping finale in the rain, Leinster ‘A’ lost Cahir to the sin bin after he was caught on the wrong side of a ruck. O’Connell took the scrum option, Murphy carrying strongly off the base to take them within metres of the try-line.

The visitors patienty edged their way closer before replacement Nowak burrowed over from a close-range ruck, with timely support from fellow youngster Lautsou. Butler had the conversion to complete a stunning away victory, but he was off target on this occasion.

TIME LINE: 3 minutes – Leinster ‘A’ try: John McKee – 5-0; conversion: Caspar Gabriel – 7-0; 25 mins – Leinster ‘A’ try: Caspar Gabriel – 12-0; conversion: missed by Caspar Gabriel – 12-0; 38 mins – Leinster ‘A’ try: Penalty try & conversion – 19-0; Munster ‘A’ yellow card: Shay McCarthy; Half-time – Leinster ‘A’ 19 Munster ‘A’ 0; 43 mins – Leinster ‘A’ try: Josh Kenny – 24-0; conversion: Caspar Gabriel – 26-0; 63 mins – Munster ‘A’ try: Shay McCarthy – 26-5; conversion: Tony Butler – 26-7; 66 mins – Munster ‘A’ try: Luke Murphy – 26-12; conversion: Tony Butler – 26-14; 75 mins – Munster ‘A’ try: Shay McCarthy – 26-19; conversion: Tony Butler – 26-21; 80 mins – Leinster ‘A’ yellow card: Jerry Cahir; 80+2 mins – Munster ‘A’ try: Kamil Nowak – 26-26; conversion: missed by Tony Butler – 26-26; Full-time – Leinster ‘A’ 26 Munster ‘A’ 26

LEINSTER ‘A’: Hugo McLaughlin; Josh Kenny, Connor Fahy, Charlie Tector, Andrew Osborne; Caspar Gabriel, Oliver Coffey; Alex Usanov, John McKee (capt), Andrew Sparrow, Alan Spicer, Billy Corrigan, Diarmuid Mangan, Will Connors, James Culhane.

Replacements: Stephen Smyth, Jerry Cahir, Niall Smyth, Artur Smykovskiy, Charlie Meagher, Tadhg Brophy, Ciarán Mangan, Todd Lawlor, Mahon Ronan, Páidí Farrell.

MUNSTER ‘A’: Ben O’Connor; Shay McCarthy, Fionn Gibbons, Eoghan Smyth, Gene O’Leary Kareem; Tony Butler, Jake O’Riordan; Mark Donnelly, Max Clein, Kieran Ryan, Conor Ryan, Evan O’Connell (capt), Finn McCall, Oisín Minogue, Luke Murphy.

Replacements: Danny Sheahan, Johnny Byrne, George Hadden, Darragh McSweeney, Roman Salanoa, Kamil Nowak, Alex Lautsou, John Poland, Dylan Hicks, Jed O’Dwyer.

Referee: Evan Urruzmendi (FFR)

IRFU MEN’S ‘A’ INTERPROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS/FIXTURES –

Round 1:

Saturday, October 18 – Leinster ‘A’ 26 Munster ‘A’ 26, Ollie Campbell Park, Old Belvedere RFC
Friday, November 21 – Ulster ‘A’ v Connacht Eagles, Palace Grounds, City of Armagh RFC, 3pm

Round 2:

Friday, December 19 – Connacht Eagles v Ulster ‘A’, Dexcom Stadium, 2pm
Friday, December 19 – Munster ‘A’ v Leinster ‘A’, Rockwell College 4G pitch, kick-off tbc

Round 3:

Saturday, January 3 – Leinster ‘A’ v Connacht Eagles, UCD Bowl, UCD RFC, 2pm
Friday, February 13 – Munster ‘A’ v Ulster ‘A’, venue & kick-off tbc

Round 4:

Friday, February 13 – Connacht Eagles v Leinster ‘A’, Dexcom Stadium, 2pm
Ulster ‘A’ v Munster ‘A’, Affidea Stadium, 3pm, date tbc

Round 5:

Friday May, 1 – Connacht Eagles v Munster ‘A’, Dexcom Stadium, 2pm
Friday May, 1 – Leinster ‘A’ v Ulster ‘A’, venue & kick-off tbc

Round 6:

Ulster ‘A’ v Leinster ‘A’, date, venue & kick-off tbc
Friday, May 8 – Munster ‘A’ v Connacht Eagles, venue & kick-off tbc