Murray Bags Brace As Munster Land Big Win Over Leinster

Conor Murray’s try double drove Munster to their first win over Leinster since December 2018, as they began the Guinness PRO14 Rainbow Cup with a convincing 27-3 triumph at the RDS.

There was plenty of niggle in an error-strewn first half which ended 10-3 in Munster’s favour. Joey Carbery tagged a penalty onto Murray’s fourth-minute score, while replacement David Hawkshaw kicked Leinster’s points.

Much closer to full-strength than their arch rivals, Munster came through Stephen Archer’s sin-binning unscathed and without conceding.

There was no way back for Leinster after another Carbery penalty, Murray’s second try and a 71st-minute penalty try via an advancing maul.

With the hosts resting a number of players ahead of next week’s European semi-final against La Rochelle, this strong Munster selection were quietly fancied to reverse last month’s PRO14 final defeat.

Indeed, their fit-again captain Peter O’Mahony swiftly pickpocketed Hugh O’Sullivan, and Damian de Allende used the turnover to thunder downfield, delaying his pass superbly to send Murray over with Carbery converting.

Injuries before kick-off had already left Leinster without Caelan Doris and Ciaran Frawley, and Harry Byrne’s early departure brought Hawkshaw on at out-half. The Academy youngster nailed an eighth-minute penalty to stem any nerves.

Both sides were guilty of giving away cheap possession but, with CJ Stander, Jean Kleyn and Tadhg Beirne all prominent, Munster were winning the collisions.

As they pressed for a second try, a TMO review landed prop Archer in the bin for use of his studs on James Ryan at a ruck.

However, the excellent O’Mahony stole the subsequent lineout and Carbery punished a Scott Penny infringement with three points.

Hawkshaw missed a penalty from a tight angle just before half-time, and Leinster’s try-scoring radar was off early in the second half.

A crucial turnover penalty, won by the combined efforts of Niall Scannell and Jack O’Donoghue, thwarted the PRO14 champions.

Carbery soon kicked Munster into a 13-3 lead after being tackled off the ball by Ryan Baird, one of the best performers in the home pack.

When Leinster finally got James Lowe and Garry Ringrose in full flow, it was de Allende, the player-of-the-match, who slammed the door shut with a well-timed turnover.

The result was effectively sealed when Murray dived over from a 61st-minute ruck, capitalising on a powerful de Allende carry and some nice interplay between replacement Gavin Coombes and Chris Farrell.

Carbery’s conversion widened the margin to 17 points, and as Munster comprehensively ended a run of six straight losses to Leinster, a well-executed maul earned them a penalty try.

Leinster’s debutant scrum half Cormac Foley, who had been sprung from the bench, was binned for an illegal collapse.

Giving his reaction afterwards, Munster head coach Johann van Graan said: “We’re very happy about the result. It’s very good for this group to come and win in the RDS.

“We took some of the lessons we learned in the final, we worked hard in the last few weeks. It was a real physical battle. It’s the first round of Rainbow Cup. We’ll review this and move on.

“Tactically we picked in a specific way, our starters did really well, and the impact from the bench was really good. I felt it was a good build on the Toulouse performance.”

Leinster’s Leo Cullen admitted: “Disappointing with Harry going off (injured) very early, he has a hamstring so we’ll see how bad that is. But anyway, we had a few disruptions coming into the game.

“In terms of the contact area we were well and truly second best. Munster are very aggressive in that area and unfortunately that leads to a lot of problems.

“We actually created a lot of opportunities, we weren’t accurate around some of the set-piece pieces as well. So overall, we were well and truly second best, I thought.”