Leinster 16 Munster 6:Leinster produced a masterful second half performance to deny rivals Munster a place in the Magners League final at the RDS. In attack and latterly defence, the homeside were at their best to take their points and shut out the inevitable fightback that came their way from Tony McGahan's side.
With the scores locked at three each at the break, Ronan O’Gara dropped a goal in the opening seconds of the second half but Leinster responded with a beautifully worked Rob Kearney try before Jonathan Sexton added two penalties to keep Munster at distance.
As ever, the visitors refused to back down and fought to the death but were met by a defiant wall of blue, led by the irrepressible Jamie Heaslip, whose performance on both the front foot and the back was monumental.
Leinster will now have home advantage when the Ospreys come to Dublin to contest the final on May 29th.
Regular captains Leo Cullen (shoulder) and Paul O’Connell (groin) were the most notable absentees as these great rivals collided for the fourth time in a little over a year.
Leinster had a changeable wind behind them in the opening half and after Munster had briefly pressed, Sexton missed his first shot in anger since his injury against Toulouse.
Earls, also back from a groin strain, made the first real thrust, invited through a gap by a flat pass from his centre partner Jean de Villiers.
Munster probed at close quarters and through O’Gara’s right boot, but their lineout let them down and Leinster’s defence was a constant strength.
It needed to be after a rush of blood to the head saw Shane Horgan tackle an airborne Niall Ronan as he gathered a high ball, resulting in a yellow card for the Leinster winger.
But the hosts managed to move ahead while down to 14 men, with Eoin Reddan and Brian O’Driscoll sniping through and Sexton punishing a Tomas O’Leary offside to give his side an 18th-minute lead.
O’Gara put width on the ball as Munster tried to use their numerical advantage, butt with Nick Williams losing his footing on the left wing, Cian Healy was able to pinch possession and Reddan cleared.
Paul Warwick had a drop goal hit the crossbar, before Munster got off the mark in the 29th minute. A solid hit by Earls on O’Driscoll pressed Leinster into a hurried clearance and a subsequent offside allowed O’Gara kick his side level.
Leinster had the better of the exchanges coming up to half-time, and looked the more likely to score.
Kearney collected a high ball and danced his way past four players to provide some inspiration, while Stan Wright and Isa Nacewa made good yardage through the middle and out wide.
But Munster continued to cause problems and Williams blew a decent opportunity as he knocked on after Reddan and Kearney had collided when chasing back towards their 22.
With the sides tied at 3-3, the second half saw the pace ratcheted up. Within 10 seconds of the resumption, O’Gara had used a quick feed from Niall Ronan to knock over a sumptuous drop goal for an all-too-brief advantage.
Led by the barnstorming Heaslip, Leinster dominated the third quarter and an ominously slick back-line move led to Kearney making the breakthrough in the 44th minute.
Gordon D’Arcy popped the ball to Sexton on a clever wraparound, the out-half then sped through a gap and drew the covering Warwick before sending Kearney over in the right corner.
Sexton added a terrific conversion for a 10-6 scoreline and the margin grew to seven points when Marcus Horan had a penalty reversed against him for punching and Sexton landed the resulting kick.
Lifeimi Mafi offered Munster some hope with a series of lively runs, but Leinster, despite a lack of sustained possession, were tightening their grip on the game. Heaslip’s thundering run off a lineout showed just that.
After an O’Gara penalty miss, his half-back partner O’Leary was fortunate to avoid a yellow card in the 56th minute. O’Leary was cautioned for a high tackle on Cian Healy which prevented a certain try for the Leinster prop.
Had Leinster got over the line, it would have been game over. Sexton split the posts with the resulting penalty and his more experienced counterpart O’Gara missed from halfway as Tony McGahan’s charges became increasingly desperate for points.
De Villiers went off injured in his final game for Munster, but there was little the big Springbok could do to prevent Leinster from marching to their 16th successive league win at the RDS.
Munster had most of the attacking play in the final quarter, only for Leinster’s tireless defence and dominant scrum to keep them at bay. Mafi again looked dangerous with ball in hand, and replacement Peter Stringer added some pace to their late forays.
But there was no sign of Leinster wilting and a late surge from O’Driscoll and D’Arcy showed the potency they possess.
Having guided Leinster to their fourth victory on the trot over Munster — something they have not achieved in the professional era — Cheika could be set for a title-winning send-off before he heads to Stade Francais next season.
Scoring
Leinster (3) 16 - Tries: R. Kearney. Cons: J. Sexton. Pens: J. Sexton 3.
Munster (3) 6 - Pens: O’Gara. Drop Goals: O’Gara.
Att: 19,750