Leinster v Munster: Has the old rivalry found a healthier balance?

If nothing else, the Leinster-Munster rivalry has been as durable as old boots. It has survived a prolonged period of Munster dominance, a prolonged period of Leinster dominance, a period of being overplayed behind closed doors to keep the show on the road and, hence, perhaps most of all, just too much of a good thing. Familiarity breeds contempt and all that.

Last May, they met for the 17th time in six seasons in the URC semi-finals at a week’s notice, with the Aviva’s upper tiers closed. On top of Ireland’s epic wins over France and England in their Grand Slam campaign, it was Leinster’s fifth of six end-of-season knockout games at the ground. Aviva fatigue had set in.

Despite this, a crowd of 26,795 turned up, which was comfortably bigger than the capacity at the RDS, which is not far below the average attendance over the last 38 clashes dating back to the 2005-06 season, either side of the lockdowns, which is 31,062.

Last week was derby weekend in the English Premiership, witnessing a very healthy 27,076 for the East Midlands clash between Leicester Tigers and Northampton Saints. But no other derby, not in New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, the Premiership or Top 14, comes close to Leinster v Munster. Outside of Test rugby, it’s the best-attended fixture in the global game.

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[ Gerry Thornley: Leinster v Munster is the biggest domestic rivalry in world rugby ]

The URC is lucky to have it. Most of all, Irish rugby is lucky to have it. The rivalry has underpinned a relatively golden age featuring six Champions Cup wins between the two provinces as well as the Grand Slams of 2009, 2018 and 2023, and the Six Nations titles of 2014 and 2015.

To begin with, Munster were the standard bearers. From the dawn of professionalism up to and including their famous 30-6 win in the 2005-06 Heineken Cup semi-final amid a sea of red at the old Lansdowne Road, they won 12, drew two and lost five of 19 clashes.

Beaten finalists in 2000 and 2002, that semi-final victory led to Munster winning the Heineken Cup in 2006 and 2008, and in many ways, this was a continuation of the superiority that the Limerick and Cork clubs had established over their Dublin rivals in the AIL. From 1990-91 to 2009-10, Munster clubs won 17 of the first 20 AIL titles.

The province’s 2006 Heineken Cup triumph featured 13 homegrown players and an all-Munster pack, most of whom had won AIL medals. Six of those forwards, along with Tomás O’Leary and Ronan O’Gara, made up the spine of Ireland’s 2009 Grand Slam-winning team.

However, for Leinster, that chastening 2005-06 semi-final defeat had also been a wake-up call.

“It galvanised me, and our coaching staff,” the long-serving former Leinster CEO Mick Dawson told these pages subsequently. “They said we weren’t good enough on the pitch and we said we weren’t good enough off the pitch.”

The circumstances around the 2009 Grand Slam had also proved a turning point. Until then, the sometimes bitter rivalry between Munster and Leinster had, perhaps, not always been healthy for the Irish team.

Prior to that Six Nations campaign, the Irish squad assembled in Johnstown House in Enfield before Christmas in what was Declan Kidney’s first season as head coach. After an anticlimactic 2007 World Cup, Ireland finished fourth in the 2008 Six Nations.

The squad of 40 were split into groups for SWOT exercises, ie strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Rob Kearney was placed in Ronan O’Gara’s group and dared to say he was envious of the passionate atmosphere Munster players and fans had created in their Thomond Park fortress and didn’t see this with Ireland in Lansdowne Road.

When the squad came together again, each group leader read out their notes, including O’Gara, who said there was a view expressed that Munster players looked like they enjoyed playing for their province more, and didn’t produce that form for Ireland.

He finished his notes and the meeting carried on until Marcus Horan stood up and spoke of “the big elephant in the room here,” adding, “We can’t move on until it is discussed.”

According to Kearney, in his autobiography, the seconds passed quietly, leaving him with no option but to stand up and confirm what he’d said in the mini-group.

Nothing else was said. He retreated to his room before going down for breakfast the next morning, whereupon the first people he encountered, with his head down, were Horan and Donncha O’Callaghan.

“Fair balls to you kid,” said O’Callaghan. “It took a lot to say what you said.” Horan concurred. Before they left Enfield, Kidney stressed that whatever was said was to remain within the four walls.

The ice had been broken and it was striking how unified the team looked when celebrating a brilliant opening try against France by Jamie Heaslip, which sparked a 30-21 win over France and led to Ireland’s first Grand Slam in 61 years.

It’s worth wondering if the more unified Leinster-Munster bond in that Irish team contributed to what happened next. Maybe it had nothing to do with it, but three weeks later Munster and Leinster beat Perpignan and Harlequins to set up a second Heineken Cup semi-final in Croke Park.

That game featured 16 of the match-day 22 on duty in Cardiff six weeks previously and six of Ireland’s eight most capped players of all time. Leinster’s seismic 25-6 win in front of a then world record crowd of 82,208 sparked a shift in the balance of power, as they went on to reach the first of seven subsequent finals, the first of four triumphs.

Munster, who had won two of four finals over the previous nine seasons, have never been back in a decider since, despite reaching another seven semi-finals. They had won twelve, drawn two and lost five of the previous 19 meetings, but that semi-final sparked a five-game winning streak by Leinster.

Granted, Munster did win the Magners League final in 2011 to deny Leinster a double a week after the famous Johnny Sexton-inspired comeback in the Heineken Cup final against Northampton. However, as their rivals’ trophy cupboard overflowed and Munster’s trophyless seasons mounted, so Leinster lorded the rivalry, winning 22 of the ensuing 28 meetings, including 14 out of 16 prior to last May’s URC semi-final.

It ceases to become a rivalry when one team dominates to that extent.

This was reflected in Irish squads as well. It’s amazing to think that back in 2007, when at their zenith, Munster were bulk suppliers to Ireland’s World Cup squad, with a dozen players to eight from Ulster and just six from Leinster. As outlined, it was a similar story for the 2009 Grand Slam.

But by 2011 this had flipped, with Leinster supplying 13 of Ireland’s 30-man World Cup squad compared to eight from Munster and just five from Ulster. Leinster have remained bulk suppliers ever since, with Munster next in three of the last four World Cups.

Leinster’s role in backboning the 2014 and 2015 Six Nations titles, and the Grand Slams of 2018 and 2023 was even more pronounced, as they provided 16, 15, 13 and 16 of the match-day 23s on the final Saturdays.

Leinster’s supremacy at every level perhaps also extracted some of the sting from the fixture, on the pitch anyway if not necessarily off it. The animosity between some of the fans became a little too toxic around the time of the two Heineken Cup semi-finals and Munster’s victory in the 2011 league final, notably on message boards, and continued for several years after that.

True, Irish sport is founded on county and provincial boundaries so we shouldn’t be surprised. Some supporters, on each side of the divide say that the edge has been dulled a little, you’d have to imagine the Green Army at the World Cup would also have had a unifying effect – albeit there were sightings of red and blue jerseys at Irish games.

Some supporters maintain that the hostility can be as unsavoury as ever and perhaps even Munster’s win in the semi-finals last May – which in many ways was badly needed – will re-fuel the rivalry off the pitch as well as on it.

Time heals, they say, and a la Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane stoking the Arsenal-Man United fires, personalities such as Ronan O’Gara, Johnny Sexton, Donncha O’Callaghan and Felipe Contepomi come and go.

Team Ireland has probably dulled the edge too. Even players who once upon a time epitomised the rivalry, like Peter O’Mahony, talk about the Irish squad being the best environment they’ve ever experienced.

And the more harmonious the Irish camp has become, particularly under Andy Farrell, inevitably this must make it harder to dislike provincial rivals as before. So maybe the rivalry has found a healthier balance. Or maybe old habits die hard.

Today may tell a tale.

Six key clashes

2002 Celtic League final: Leinster 24 Munster 20 (Lansdowne Road)

The birth of the modern-day rival, with 35,000 attending the inaugural final in December 2001. Leinster had won one of the previous eight meetings. Eric Miller was sent off in the 26th minute and Munster led 15-6 early in the second half thanks to tries by Anthony Foley and John Kelly, but Leinster memorably responded with tries by Gordon D’Arcy and Shane Horgan.

2006 Heineken Cup semi-final: Munster 30 Leinster 6 (Lansdowne Road)

It’s funny to think that Leinster were marginal favourites for the provinces’ first meeting in the cup’s knockout stages after a memorable quarter-final win away to Toulouse. But Munster couldn’t afford to lose and Leinster were overwhelmed on and off the pitch.

2009 Heineken Cup semi-final: Leinster 25 Munster 6 (Croke Park)

Munster, seeking a third title in four years, were favourites but with half the 82,000-plus record attendance dressed in blue, this time it was Leinster who couldn’t afford to lose.

2009 Magners League: Leinster 30 Munster 0 (RDS)

The following October, this confirmed the shift in the power balance, on a night when Munster suffered a record defeat in the fixture in the professional era and John Hayes was sent off.

2011 Magners League final: Munster 19 Leinster 9 (Thomond Park)

Leinster had completed a famous comeback from a 22-3 interval deficit in the Heineken Cup final the week before. But completing the double was a big ask in front of a passionate crowd against a passionate home team who turned the screw at scrum time late on.

2023 URC semi-final: Leinster 15 Munster 16 (Aviva Stadium)

Leinster kept some of their big guns in reserve a week ahead of the Champions Cup final against La Rochelle and led entering the last four minutes. Whereupon Keith Earls, Shane Daly and John Hodnett led a break-out from Munster’s line and Jack Crowley landed the match-winning drop goal. Two weeks later they were champions.