5:45p.m on October 12th, where else would you rather be than in Croke Park in North County Dublin watching history repeat itself 15 years on?
A sell-out crowd of over 80,000 fans attended URC’s Leinster vs Munster matchup in Croke Park, for the first time since 2009. A record-breaking turnout for the URC, and by a long shot. The anticipation was high and the atmosphere was electrifying. Leinster second-row RG Snyman found himself right in front of the Munster fans during the warm-up, having only played for them less than 5 months ago. The Munster fans certainly let their feelings be heard early on.
Leinster had the first kick of the game, and right-off-the-bat, a tackle in the air. No injuries and play restarted with a penalty to Munster.
Five minutes in and Leinster’s attack was bombing towards the Munster defence line. Ciaran Frawley made a statement as for why he should be Ireland’s number 10. The Munster defence held their ground in the centre of the pitch, but gaps were formed out wide. Scrum-half Jameson Gibson Park swung a skip pass out to winger James Lowe for the first try of the match. A difficult kick for Frawley, but the Skerries man slotted it over the black spot. No need for ‘Hawk Eye’. 7 – nil.
A back-and-forth battle between the two sides made it seem all was not lost for Muster. Munster were looking very deadly in the attack but Leinster’s defence quickly turned the ball over. 10 minutes in and the ball was run into the Red 22. The Blues found themselves in the opposite corner this time with no joy. A switch of play and a barrelling run by Captain Caelan Dorris led to a try for Leinster. Conversation arose as the referee Chris Busby had a word with the TMO to confirm the grounding – was it grounded or did Munster captain Tadgh Beirne manage to dispossess and deny Leinster an early breakaway? After much discussion, clear grounding was visible, and Leo Cullens side were awarded the try. They were set up right under the posts for Ciaran Frawley to take the conversion quick and add on another two points to the scoreboard. 14 – nil.
Leinster thundered on. Four minutes later they found themselves in the Munster 5 with a line out going their way. Munster’s defence stood strong, but the lack of numbers out wide led to a few well-worked passes from Leinster, which let Hugo Keenan effortlessly place the ball down for try number three. Quickly converted, making it 21-nil.
After the first 20 minutes, Munster started to come out on top. The first proper scoring opportunity presented itself. But, a penalty kick taken by number 10 Jack Crowley fell short and hit the crossbar, giving Leinster possession. James Lowe with his famous left boot sent the ball soaring down to the centre of the pitch. A promising Munster attack had fans on the edge of their seats. They worked it out wide and into the Leinster 22, a few quick hands and it ended with Nankivell throwing an unfortunate forward pass to Calvin Nash for a disallowed try. The score remained 21 – nil. Munster remained on top for the majority of the next 10 minutes. They finally managed to get the ball over the try line after a beautifully taken lineout. Kleyn popped the ball off the back to Coombes. He popped it to O’Brien who placed the ball down for a well-deserved Munster try 34 minutes in. 21-5.
As the clock reached red – danger was nearing after a penalty was awarded to Leinster on the Munster 5 metre line. A few quick pick and goes by the forwards allowed Leinster to suck in the Munster defence once again. Then, like Moses parting the Red Sea, former Munster player RG Snyman split the Munster defence in two leading to try number 4 for Leinster. The first half ended 26-5 The Munster fans let RG Snyman hear the roars of disdain, but the cheers from the ocean of Leinster fans diluted them.
The second half was filled with back-and-forth play. I would say about 70% of the play happened in the middle of the pitch with both teams displaying very strong defence.
Ten minutes into the second half Snyman was taken off. He left the pitch to a blend of heckles and cheers – a debut for the history books. Ryan Baird came on the replace, short-lived though it was as he went off for injury after his first tackle.
There is a well-known saying in rugby that forwards should never kick. But when it goes right, let’s just say it goes right. 65 minutes in and Hugo Keenan has joined the Leinster defence line – leaving nobody covering the backfield. A clever decision by Gavin Coombes gave Munster a chance, as he kicked the ball in over the Leinster line for Haley to run on to and touch the ball down for the final try of the game. Crowley converting successfully. 26-12.
The final ten minutes of the game saw a penalty on the halfway line, Ross Byrne quickly looked to kick. He lined himself up but it fell wide into the arms of Haley to touch it down for a 22 drop-out. 30 seconds later and Leinster have yet another Penalty on the Munster 10 metre line. This time it would be taken by Ciaran Frawley. The kick had the range, but it was the accuracy that had it bounce off the post into Munster’s possession.
A high intensity match fuelled by aggression, spirit and respect. An atmosphere like no other. Truly an honour to have experienced the biggest crowd in the URC in Croke Park. No where in the world has been able to pull together a crowd that size on multiple occasions. A true sense of pride to be Irish and a rugby fan.
Image: Katie O’Shaughnessy