Interprovincial ‘A’ Rugby: Leinster ‘A’ V Munster ‘A’ – Leinsterrugby.ie – November 15 2012

Leinster A 12 v 18 Munster A

Tries in either half from Ronan O’Mahony and Sean Henry proved crucial in Donnybrook, as Munster ‘A’ held off a late fightback from Leinster ‘A’ to record a six-point victory in a lively Interprovincial ‘A’ Challenge at the Dublin 4 venue…

In a lively beginning to the contest, former Ireland U-20 International JJ Hanrahan had the chance to open the scoring for Munster ‘A’ with a 30-metre penalty six minutes in, but his kick from a tight left-hand angle drifted past the post.

Munster – who started with a strong backline that included Felix Jones, Johne Murphy, Danny Barnes and the veteran Peter Stringer – were starting to force Leinster on the back-foot, however, and they crossed the whitewash for the first time on 12 minutes, when winger Ronan O’Mahony drove over on the left following fine work towards the line by hooker Sean Henry.

Out-half Hanrahan was off-target once again with his subequent conversion attempt, and Leinster ‘A’ took advantage of this missed opportunity seven minutes later when No. 10 Noel Reid converted a penalty on the 22-metre-line to cut into the visitors’ cushion.

Clontarf’s Reid was also on hand to kick between the posts with a similar effort on 25 minutes, which moved Leinster ‘A’ into a slender lead. These scores helped to calm the Leinster nerves, and even though Reid fell short with a three-point attempt moments later, he made no mistake from in front of the posts with six minutes remaining in the half.

This proved to be Reid’s last meaningful involvement in the fixture, unfortunately, as he was soon replaced by Trinity’s Cathal Marsh, and a brace of late place kicks by Hanrahan meant that Munster ‘A’ took an 11-9 advantage with them into the second period.

With a number of fresh legs introduced upon the resumption, Munster maintained their momentum from the end of the first half, and got through for their second try of the afternoon when Henry powered over in the right-corner following a long spell inside the Leinster ‘A’ ’22’ three minutes after the re-start. Hanrahan’s radar was now fully tuned in, and he expertly secured the bonuses from the right-wing, increasing the Munster ‘A’ lead to nine in the process.

This left Leinster with plenty of work to do as the final half-hour of play beckoned, but even though they were displaying plenty of endeavour in attack, they were finding it hard to break through a stern Munster ‘A’rearguard, who were keeping them at bay whenever it looked like they might find a way through.

As the half moved on, both sides opted to unload their bench, offering those on show some much-needed game time ahead of their respective British & Irish Cup ties in the coming weeks. Replacement out-half, Scott Deasy, was presented with the opportunity to increase the Munster ‘A’ cushion even further with 12 minutes to go, but his kick fell well short of the Leinster ‘A’ posts.

This offered Leinster ‘A’ a lifeline heading into the closing stages, and a successful Marsh penalty on 77 minutes meant that there were going to some nervy moments for Munster ‘A’ late on. Indeed, it briefly looked like Leinster might be able to find their way through for a dramatic triumph, but Munster ‘A’ held firm to come away with a hard-earned success in the end.