Leinster edge past Munster in low-scoring derby

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Leinster edge past Munster in low-scoring derby


United Rugby Championship, Thomond Park

Munster 8 (0)

Tries: Kelly Pens: Crowley

Leinster 13 (7)

Tries: Van der Flier Cons: Byrne Pens: Byrne 2

Leinster held on to beat Munster by a score of 13-8 in a festive United Rugby Championship derby at Thomond Park.

Josh van der Flier scored the champions’ only strive of the game in the sixth minute with eight additional factors from the boot of Harry Byrne sufficient to ensure of the tightly contested victory.

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Dan Kelly’s strive with 10 minutes remaining had introduced Munster again within 5 factors however stout defence in the closing phases noticed Leo Cullen’s males maintain on for the away win.

After dropping three of their opening 4 games in the 2025-26 campaign including a 31-14 defeat by Munster in Croke Park during October, Leinster have now received six in a row in all competitions.

They stay sixth in the URC desk, while Munster’s dropping bonus point took them again above Cardiff and into second in the standings.

  • In a gap half that featured just one solitary strive, the dominant theme was Leinster’s superiority in the scrum.

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    With former Leinster participant Michael Ala’alatoa showing to wrestle on their tight-head facet, Munster couldn’t familiarize yourself with their opposing entrance row who had been ready to make use of the set-piece to relive stress time and time again.

    Despite those difficulties, Munster still loved loads of territory however had been missing in accuracy when it got here to the crunch.

    Jack Crowley missed contact in what was a typically poor kicking show from those in purple, while a Mike Haley knock-on after a poor Tom Farrell move ended another assault.

    Leinster struggled to transform their very own alternatives however did take a 7-0 lead into the flip because of Van der Flier’s early score.

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    After considered one of those preliminary scrum penalties, the guests kicked to the nook with Ronan Kelleher discovering Caelan Doris from the subsequent line-out.

    While the maul made only marginal headway, there was to be no stopping Van der Flier when the again row peeled off the again and ran via the deal with of Craig Casey to score.

    In what continued to be a low-scoring and disjointed game after the flip, Harry Byrne and Crowley traded penalties 1 / 4 of an hour after the restart.

    Approaching the final quarter, Byrne added another three factors with the boot however, as either side turned to their benches, it felt a game already missing in stream was changing into even more disjointed.

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    Replacement centre Dan Kelly’s strive in the seventieth minute arrange an absorbing end however, strive as they could and despite loads of late possession, Munster couldn’t discover a method via the Leinster defence for the telling score.

    In reality, while the game didn’t lack depth or ferocity, given the paucity of attacking high quality on present, it was a becoming end to such a contest.

    Both sides face another interprovincial derby in the URC next week with Munster travelling to Ulster on Friday and Leinster internet hosting Connacht the following day.

    Munster: Haley; Daly, Farrell, Nankivell, Abrahams; Crowley, Casey; Milne, Barron, Ala’alatoa; Edogbo, Ahern; Beirne, O’Donoghue, Coombes.

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    Replacements: Barron, Loughman, Ryan, Kleyn, Wycherley, Patterson, Kelly, Hodnett.

    Leinster: Frawley; O’Brien, Ioane, Henshaw, Lowe; Byrne, Gibson-Park; Porter, Kelleher, Clarkson; McCarthy, Ryan; Deegan, van der Flier, Doris (capt).

    Replacements: McKee, P McCarthy, Furlong, Mangan, Penny, Gunne, Tector, Osborne.

    Referee: Peter Martin (IRFU)



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