Munster outmuscle Leinster
Munster maintained their place at the top of the Magners League with a 22-5 Irish derby win over Leinster on Saturday.
Last Updated: 04/04/09 11:27pm
Munster maintained their place at the top of the Magners League with a 22-5 Irish derby win over Leinster on Saturday, leaving daylight between themselves and their Irish neighbours with four games to go.
Tries in the second half by Keith Earls and Denis Fogarty helped the European champions to earn a deserved win in their Irish Derby battle at Thomond Park.
Ronon O'Gara kicked 12 points for Munster and controlled the attack from fly-half, while his opposite number Felipe Contepomi struggled with the boot, missing four kicks at goal.
Tony McGahan's men now move seven points clear at the top of the Magners League after Saturday's victory.
Leinster were missing the injured Brian O'Driscoll (neck), Luke Fitzgerald (shoulder) and CJ Van Der Linde (toe) but were clearly determined to gain revenge for September's 18-0 defeat to Munster at the RDS.
Kicks
Doug Howlett threatened twice before O'Gara kicked two penalties in the space of six minutes to move Munster ahead on the scoreboard.
Despite some ferocious battles in the forwards, attacking play was at a premium and the home side led narrowly 6-0 at half-time.
On the restart, Munster drew a penalty at a breakdown and O'Gara landed the resulting kick to add to Leinster's growing frustration at 9-0.
O'Gara was at the heart of everything, and he followed up on his own sublime touch-finding kick to drop a masterful goal after Paul O'Connell produced a lineout steal.
With Contepomi missing his second and third penalty attempts, Munster effectively moved out of sight on 62 minutes when Earls danced along the left touchline and muscled over in the corner past Rob Kearney.
David Wallace freed up Earls with an excellent offload out of the tackle and the Limerick-born centre handed off Healy before making the line before Kearney's last-gasp challenge.
O'Gara missed the conversion and Shane Horgan, combining well on the loop with Isa Nacewa, sent Gordon D'Arcy through for a well-taken try as Leinster showed signs of a revival.
But Contepomi failed to add the extras and although Munster lost Lifeimi Mafi to the sin-bin late on - for tangling with Jonathan Sexton - they rubbed salt into Leinster wounds when O'Gara unleashed Barry Murphy down the left and his well-timed pass sent Fogarty over for the crowning score.