Maybe start with the numbers. Munster had 35 per cent possession, 31 per cent territory, had to make a staggering 267 tackles, missed just 26 – by way of comparison Leinster’s tackle figures were 118/20 – and yet the visitors came away from Croke Park with a four-try, bonus-point victory over the defending URC champions. And they deserved every scintilla of satisfaction that accompanies the 31-14 victory.
Continuing the theme, Munster won 16 turnovers to their opponent’s five and remarkably conceded double the number of penalties (14), which would normally guarantee a defeat. Those are the statistics, but the story of the game offers a great deal more colour and for Munster the joy of a red-letter day in celebrating a first win at GAA headquarters.
Tadhg Beirne had a stunning game – five turnovers, several crucial ones – head and shoulders above anyone else playing their first match of the season. But it was Jack Crowley, cheered to the hilt when announced as man of the match, who demonstrated his talent and temperament in equal measure to guide his team to victory. If he felt any pressure, any doubt, any anxiety he didn’t show it.
But it was Munster’s defence which won this match. Resilient, committed, connected and aggressive, they took all that Leinster had to offer with their ground and pound, close-range assault. And while Munster did concede the first and last tries of the game, the first from a maul, the second from a tap penalty, it was a relatively poor return for Leo Cullen’s side.
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Especially when weighed against the number of times and opportunities that Leinster racked up inside their opponent’s 22. There’s no doubt that the home side made it slightly easier at times in terms of flawed decision-making and a level of carelessness that beggared belief at times.
Cullen had spoken about respecting the ball in the build-up to the game. The team didn’t live those values during the 80 minutes, quite the opposite. Some of the attempted offloads defied physics with a low percentage chance of success but Leinster players still went for the 20/80 play.
Examples of Munster’s belligerent defence were legion. On 50 minutes Leinster got to within a couple of metres of the Munster line following a penalty and lineout maul but Josh van der Flier, who had been tireless, was held up over the line by Gavin Coombes. Great tenacity from the Munster player.
On 52 minutes Sam Prendergast kicked a penalty to the corner only for Munster’s maul defence to win a scrum turnover. Five minutes later Leinster had another scrum in the shadow of the Munster posts, only for Max Deegan to lose control of the ball. Every other day it’s a reset. Not today and Beirne was sharpest and got the turnover.
On 61 minutes another stunning defensive set from Munster, culminated in Beirne winning a penalty turnover. The relentless quality and accuracy of Munster’s tackling was first class. Ethan Coughlan’s try from 70 metres was a byproduct of Munster’s defence, forcing Jamison Gibson-Park to look further afield for a chink, only to have his pass picked off.
On the flip side Leinster face an uncomfortable Monday review that will shine a light on a sloppiness that undermined their ambition. When they needed to be ruthless and clear-eyed in their decision making, they were careless and inaccurate, which scuppered three gilt-edged try-scoring chances alone.
Leinster’s lack of cohesion jarred. It was the wrong type of game to be trying to find your rugby legs in a new season. Unless your name was Beirne. Munster rode their luck at times, especially in the scrum, but when it came to game-defining moments it was their players that came up trumps. They played as a team and that connection was crucial in terms of the result.
