Leinster see off Munster

Editor

Leinster moved level on points with PRO12 pace-setters the Ospreys on Saturday after they beat bitter rivals Munster 25-14 in Dublin.

The hosts had the best of the early exchanges, Johnny Sexton's boot taking them into an early lead.

However, it was Munster skipper Peter O'Mahony who scored the first try of the match on his return from a protracted injury absence.

Isa Nacewa scored the first of his two tries just before the break to send his side back to the dressing room with a lead.

Nacewa completed his brace after the break to put the hosts into a dominant position.

A third try for Leinster came from Jamison Gibson-Park to put the game to bed.

Jaco Taute's late try provided some consolation for the visitors but it was the hosts who secured victory to continue their impressive start to the season. They now sit level with Ulster atop the PRO12 table.

Sexton scored two penalties in the first ten minutes of the match to put Leinster into an early six-point lead.

Munster responded with the first try of the match after 26 minutes, a short line-out leading to a maul that overpowered the home side's defence and pushed over the try-line. Club captain O'Mahony was awarded the try after consultation with the TMO. Tyler Bleyendaal added the extras to nudge his side into a narrow 6-7 lead.

Leinster missed a golden opportunity to score a try of their own just two minutes later, Sexton spotted a gap in the visitors' defence and put a marvellous grubber through to Gary Ringrose. However, the 21-year-old could not gather the ball and knocked on just inches from the line.

The hosts would not live to rue this mistake as they scored their first try after 35 minutes. A five-metre scrum was won and the ball was spread out wide to Nacewa who touched down in the corner. Sexton missed his conversion to leave his side with a half-time lead of 11-7.

Nacewa scored his second try of the match after 55 minutes. A Ringrose break drew in the visitors' defence before the ball was spread out to the left with Rob Kearney the man who found Nacewa in acres of space on the wing to touch down. Sexton converted to take his side into an 11-point lead.

Victory was assured after 68 minutes as Gibson-Park latched onto a loose ball in the in-goal area and touched down to score for the hosts. Nacewa took over kicking duties for the conversion, adding to his personal tally with a successful effort to make the score 25-7.

Munster scored a consolation try after 74 minutes, Taute the man to cross the line after a strong spell of Munster pressure. Ian Keatley converted to make the final score 25-14.

The scorers:

For Leinster:
Tries: Nacewa 2, Gibson-Park
Cons: Sexton, Nacewa
Pens: Sexton 2

For Munster:
Tries: O'Mahony, Taute
Cons: Bleyendaal, Keatley

Leinster: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Rory O'Loughlin, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Isa Nacewa (c), 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Jordi Murphy, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 Ian Nagle, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Cian Healy
Replacements: 16 James Tracy, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Mike Ross, 19 Ross Molony, 20 Dan Leavy, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Joey Carbery, 23 Noel Reid

Munster: 15 Simon Zebo, 14 Darren Sweetnam, 13 Keith Earls, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Ronan O'Mahony, 10 Tyler Bleyendaal, 9 Conor Murray, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Tommy O'Donnell, 6 Peter O'Mahony (c), 5 Billy Holland, 4 Donnacha Ryan, 3 John Ryan, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Dave Kilcoyne
Replacements: 16 Duncan Casey, 17 James Cronin, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Robin Copeland, 20 Jack O'Donoghue, 21 Duncan Williams, 22 Ian Keatley, 23 Jaco Taute

Referee: David Wilkinson (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Stuart Gaffikin, Richard Kerr (both Ireland)
TMO: Simon McDowell (Ireland)