Jordan Larmour’s scintillating 60-metre effort was the decisive score of an epic eight-try GUINNESS PRO14 derby at Thomond Park where Leinster lowered the colours of Munster on a 34-24 scoreline.
The prodigious 20-year-old full-back, playing in his first festive interprovincial derby, lit up the occasion with a superb sidestepping run that took his past three Munster players and he had enough strength to ground the ball under pressure from the covering Simon Zebo.
The youngster’s 69th-minute bonus point score broke up what had been a stirring second half fight-back from Munster, who had appeared to be suffering from a Christmas hangover when tries from man-of-the-match Dan Leavy and Robbie Henshaw, coupled with a penalty try and Ross Byrne’s 10-point kicking haul, gave Leinster a 27-5 half-time lead.
The capacity crowd of 26,267 – a PRO14 record at Thomond Park – roared its approval as tries from Ian Keatley (45 minutes) and Andrew Conway (48), adding to Conor Murray’s first half effort, had Munster right back in contention at 27-19. However, Jordan Larmour consigned the men in red to their first home defeat since last February before Conway’s second try earned Munster a battling bonus point.
Leinster deserved the full points on foot of an excellent first half display, in which Leavy and James Ryan were the dominant figures up front. It looked like Johann van Graan’s decision to make only four changes to the Munster team that won at Leicester last week had backfired as freshened-up Leinster, who only retained Henshaw, Devin Toner and Jack Conan from their European exploits, sprinted ahead early on.
It was ultimately only two changes for Munster as Keith Earls and Rhys Marshall were both late withdrawals, and the hosts started on the back foot as Leavy force a penalty at the very first breakdown. Out-half Byrne swung over a well-struck kick from the right for the opening points inside two minutes.
Like Leavy, Conway was also heavily involved in the early exchanges, testing out Barry Daly’s defence in the Leinster 22. However, the visitors built a 13-0 lead in as many minutes.
James Lowe, making his first appearance on Irish soil, and Larmour injected pace in a free-flowing break from halfway, and with space on the opposite wing, Byrne’s cross-field kick gave Leavy a simple run-in for his eighth-minute try.
The increasingly-influential Leinster number 10 added a terrific conversion from out wide and then nailed a penalty from the 10-metre line as Munster, who were hoping to win on the occasion of captain Peter O’Mahony’s 100th appearance, continued to struggle with their discipline and kick transition.
Van Graan’s charges did manage to free up Alex Wootton along the left touchline and with further momentum from a penalty and clever maul move in the 17th minute, Murray dived over in the left corner for a much-needed five-pointer.
However, Munster entered the second quarter 20-5 down and with full-back Conway in the sin-bin. His early tackle on Lowe, as the pair chased a Larmour kick up to the Munster try-line, saw referee Nigel Owens award a penalty try, having consulted with TMO Simon McDowell.
It got even worse for O’Mahony and his team-mates in the 22nd minute as they allowed Rory O’Loughlin to counter brilliantly from deep and link with the supporting Daly whose pass out of a tackle sent Henshaw over to the right of the posts.
Munster’s first half woes were summed by two overcooked kicks from Keatley and Sam Arnold, either side of a Leinster choke tackle that highlighted the physical dominance of their pack in open play.
But the tables were very much turned on the resumption, with the odd sight of Murray winning his second lineout of the game before his half-back Keatley sniped over for a galvanising try which he converted himself.
Suddenly, the momentum was all with Munster as Keatley converted and then added the extras to a classy score from Conway who cut inside the otherwise impressive Larmour and finished smartly past Daly, the final defender, wide on the right.
A breathless and frenzied passage of play saw both defences come under waves of pressure, with Munster prop Stephen Archer even getting a rare chance to stretch his legs in open territory. Leavy stepped up for the visitors, winning a crucial turnover penalty in his 22 and Larmour took centre stage two minutes later.
The Dubliner’s pace and blinding footwork – seen also in interpro action against Ulster in October – carved open the Munster defence on a kick return and the resulting try gave Leinster the necessary breathing space, with Byrne’s conversion making it 34-19.
The visitors’ bench, which included Tadhg Furlong and Josh van der Flier, helped them seal their second season’s double over Munster in three years, while Conway’s well-taken 76th-minute try at least ensured Munster had something to show for their frenetic comeback after half-time.
Giving his reaction afterwards, Munster head coach van Graan said: “Very disappointed, disappointed about the first half specifically. We didn’t start well and happy about the second half but unfortunately rugby is an 80 minute game.
“Over 80 minutes we just weren’t good enough tonight. From the first kick-off, Leinster poached the ball and we’re 3-0 down. Some very good lessons that we need to learn from. No excuses. We had a big training week.
“Each team has to mange this Christmas period and we went for the same team (as the Leicester game). We had two guys pulling out late, Keith and Ehys, but we knew sometime early in the week.
“We take it game by game. two quality teams up against each other and they were better tonight. They’re a quality side and some quality individuals all across the park. The positive is how we responded at half-time, we adjusted our game-plan.
“We had to adjust and I thought we did pretty well. We committed more numbers to the breakdown, we kicked long and got some lineout opportunities in territory, and we won collisions and got momentum.
“I’m very happy with the bonus point for four tries but very disappointed with the result. It’s frustrating when you go out all guns blazing and receive the kick-off and concede the penalty and you’re three points down. Not good enough but, like I said, we have to learn from it.”
Leinster head coach Leo Cullen admitted: “It was a very strange game. We took our chances when they came in the first 25 minutes which gave us a little bit of a lead. After that we probably lost our way a little bit, particularly at the start of the second half when we did a few dumb things which gives Munster a good bit of access into our end – and when they’re down there, they’re very, very dangerous.
“Thankfully we were able to steady the flow for a period and keep the score to eight points which was important as I think if they get to one score, it changes the complexion of the game quite drastically.
“And then Jordan pops up with as good a try as I’ve ever seen. Amazing bit of individual brilliance from him which extends out the score and we’re able to take a sigh because I was getting a bit nervous before that.
“For us, there’s plenty of areas we can get better at. From an attack point of view, we didn’t get a huge amount of play in the second half because we just didn’t manage the game particularly well. There’s definitely areas we can get better at but we’re pleased with the outcome. We’re delighted to get a bonus point win.”
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