Leinster 25 Munster 6

Leinster reached their first Heineken Cup final by sensationally routing defending champions Munster 25-6 before a record-breaking crowd at Croke Park in Dublin on Saturday evening.

Written off before the game, Leinster shocked their provincial rivals with their defensive excellence, impressive composure and sheer will to win, and proved the worthiest of winners.

Michael Cheika’s men scored three fine tries, too. After working their way into a 6-3 lead with a drop goal from Felipe Contepomi, who later went off injured, and a penalty from Jonathan Sexton, Leinster took command of the game when Gordon D’Arcy slid over just after the half hour after being put clear by Isa Nacewa.

A second penalty of the half from Ronan O’Gara meant that Munster only trailed by five at the interval (6-11) but Leinster landed a telling psychological blow when Luke Fitzgerald streaked over just after the restart.

Munster tried valiantly to rally but they could find no way through the wall of navy and blue placed before them and Leinster sealed the most significant and symbolical victory in their history when their talismanic centre Brian O’Driscoll conjured up an intercept try on 62 minutes.

Going into the game, Leinster’s hopes of victory had been all but dismissed. It was easy to understand why. They had been comprehensively beaten in their two previous meetings with Munster this season, in the Magners League. In addition, the last time that Michael Cheika’s men had faced Munster in the semi-finals of the Heineken Cup they had suffered a humiliating 30-6 defeat.

But Leinster put the ongoing pain of that loss to good use, using it as a source of motivation rather than fear.

Contepomi had suffered more than most that day in Lansdowne road three years ago but, in spite of a somewhat nervy opening, in which he missed a penalty and sliced a clearance horribly into touch, he inspired those around him in the opening quarter.

His composure and temperament have betrayed him many times before but he was, like Leinster, in no mood to buckle this time around and he edged Leinster ahead by nonchalantly lofting over a drop goal 16 minutes in.

Criminally, Leinster handed the initiative to Munster just moments after the restart. Cian Healy was guilty of a body on Ian Dowling in midfield and that resulted in not only a yellow card for the young prop but also three easy points for O’Gara.

Leinster, though, kept coming – even with 14 men – and deservedly reclaimed the lead on 26 minutes with a penalty. Contepomi should have been the man to take it but it was instead Jonathan Sexton, the fly-half having been drafted into the fray because of game-ending – and possibly season-ending – knee injury to Contepomi.

Indeed, the Argentine was helped from the field not only in agony, but in tears, aware that his Leinster career, which is set to come to an end this summer when he makes the move to Toulon, had probably been brought to a horribly cruel premature end.

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Nster.com