Munster v Leinster: Five takeaways from the URC clash as Ireland starlet makes statement ahead of the Six Nations

Following a 9-3 victory for Leinster over Munster at Thomond Park on Boxing Day, here’s our five takeaways from the United Rugby Championship clash.

Conditions

Both teams like to shift the point of contact but attacking rugby was made virtually impossible due to the rain that lashed down for 80 minutes at Thomond Park. It therefore made it one for the purists. However, the physicality was off the charts as these two rivals smashed into each other for the whole clash.

In comparison to the Scarlets v Ospreys match earlier in the day, which was 0-0 at half-time and was simply dull, you could feel the ferocity of the collisions in Limerick. In that respect, it was a couple of levels above that game in Llanelli, even if the weather did lead to numerous mistakes and deprived us of more ball-in-hand time.

Ruck battle

The breakdown was always going to be key as everything was contested in the tight exchanges, and it proved to be a fascinating watch. In all honesty, it was a bit of a free-for-all at the contact area, but Leinster handled it the better, certainly in the first half. Their counter-rucking was very impressive as they consistently made life difficult for Munster at the base of the ruck.

To the hosts’ credit, they improved in that facet in the second period and Leo Cullen’s men did not get it all their own way in the third quarter. It allowed them to edge back into the encounter and at one stage the Limerick outfit were on top in the physical exchanges, but their opponents just managed to regain control in the final 20 minutes and that ultimately made the difference.

Johnny Sexton’s successor

It is going to be a consistent subplot heading into the Six Nations as Andy Farrell searches for his replacement for Johnny Sexton. In Jack Crowley, Munster had the man who ended the Rugby World Cup as Sexton’s back-up and he had an opportunity to lay down a marker in this clash, but the playmaker struggled.

The match was not one for him to display his attacking talents, but Farrell may be concerned that he was unable to wrestle control of the encounter. Frustratingly for the Ireland head coach, it was not as though Leinster’s Harry Byrne was any better. With his brother Ross currently on the sidelines, Harry could put himself in the frame going into the upcoming international tournament, but he was inaccurate off the tee.

Over recent weeks, Ciaran Frawley has been the best of the potential fly-halves, but he was at centre here and was not handed the place-kicking responsibilities. At the moment, no one is head and shoulders above the rest, so it will be interesting to see whether that changes over the next month.

I know it's horrible weather but the 9's and 10's for both teams really aren't playing well tonight.

This game is begging for a halfback to grab it.

— EK Rugby Analysis (@ek_rugby) December 26, 2023

Ireland hopefuls

With Leinster resting a large chunk of their Ireland stars and Munster being without the likes of Tadhg Beirne and Peter O’Mahony, it was a chance for others to step up. The game was all about the work in the tight and, as already mentioned, the visitors excelled at the breakdown. Ross Molony, Max Deegan and Scott Penny were very effective in that area, but it was Joe McCarthy who once again stood out.

Although he has established himself as a first choice lock and has started some big games this season, the 22-year-old is still in the early stages of his career. However, McCarthy looks like he could easily fit into the Ireland XV when the Six Nations starts in February. After impressing off the bench against the All Blacks in the World Cup quarter-final, he has continued that form with Leinster and once again enhanced his reputation at Thomond Park.

As for Munster, a couple of burgeoning talents such as Diarmuid Barron and Edwin Edogbo unfortunately went off injured, but recent signing Oli Jager went well at the scrum. Starting for the first time since moving from the Crusaders, 28-year-old Jager enjoyed an excellent battle with Ireland loosehead Andrew Porter and, as soon as he went off, the Munster scrum started to go backwards.

Christmas cards

There were a couple of the yellow variety but there could have been even more, while the sin-binning handed out to Craig Casey may well have been a red on another day. Casey was sent from the field for 10 minutes when he tipped Jordan Larmour above the horizontal, but it was deemed that the Leinster player landed on his back rather than his neck/head, which saved him from a red card.

Not long after that incident, Munster could have potentially received another card when a shoulder connected with the head of McCarthy. The lock was low in contact but it was not a legal action from the Munster player as he never wrapped. Mitigation could be applied with the height of the 22-year-old going into contact, but the hosts were perhaps fortunate to escape punishment.

READ MORE: Leinster muscle their way to victory over Munster in bruising Thomond Park encounter