Munster dish out a proper thrashing

Rugby/ Celtic League: A thrashing. No two ways about it. Leinster came to Musgrave Park with three successive wins under their belts, but Donnybrook is a long way from Cork and their winless sequence here will now enter a third decade.

Munster take a breather before their annual European odyssey in good spirits, while Leinster retreated home with their tails between their legs, and will be desperately seeking a big reaction at home to Cardiff next week.

As their team ruthlessly posted a record 33-9 win in this fixture, sections of another healthy "interprovincial" crowd of about 8,000 were chanting "Eee-sy, Eee-sy," long before the end; not that Munster were inclined to gloat. That isn't their style, and particularly not Declan Kidney's.

"The line between this happening and winning is so thin, that I know the exact reversal can happen in the return fixture. I really enjoyed last year and I know the character and the quality of them (Leinster), that they'll bounce straight back, and I'm glad we're not playing them next week."

Kidney was also reluctant to put this victory purely in the context of warming up for their European Cup opener away to sale next week, citing Shane Byrne's recent contention that the Celtic League was more physical than the English Premiership.

"Everybody is getting carried away with the Heineken Cup," he said, albeit adding: "We've a huge task to try and challenge the Guinness teams in the Cup, because they're run as a commercial enterprise. Our job is to supply the Irish side and that's very necessary, and two or three fellas put their hands up and said 'in a few years' time maybe you'll take a look at me'."

What especially pleased Kidney was the way his team reacted to losing both Trevor Halstead and John Hayes on the day of the game; Barry Murphy and Federico Pucciariello seamlessly filled in, and one of the stars of the show was 22-year-old scrumhalf Tomás O'Leary, making only his third appearance and second start in the absence of Peter Stringer.

Fully vindicating Kidney's selection, O'Leary sniped aggressively all day, regularly exposing holes in an increasingly porous Leinster defence.

Not that he was letting it show. Down in Munster they don't do effusiveness.

"It's great to be involved with Munster and playing with great players. It's an honour for me and I'm still thoroughly enjoying training and playing with Munster. We don't get carried away at this stage of the season. Obviously we've bigger matches ahead so we'll keep the heads down now and keep working."

Sitting alongside him, Kidney would have approved. "He did well. I think he just went out and did what he has been doing at training and you can ask no more of a man than that."

There was some merit in Kidney's contention that days like this are more liable to happen in the modern game, and while Michael Cheika might privately agree, it wasn't much consolation.

"We gave them the ball far too much, which got them in the game, and you can't do that," said Cheika, sounding like so many beaten coaches. "If you give good teams opportunities they'll take them, and that's what they did.

"Our handling mistakes let us down more than anything. We've got to take something away from this game and make sure we add it to our repertoire so that it doesn't happen again."

Leinster have much to learn, but the manner of this defeat will unnerve and haunt their supporters until the business end of the season comes around.