After yesterday’s latest shellacking on Jones Road, Munster will be hoping they won’t have go play here for another 15 years.
This was the province’s first visit to GAA headquarters since ROG, Paulie and the rest of the golden generation were ambushed by a feral Leinster side in a titanic European bout in 2009.
There wasn’t as much at stake yesterday. A record-breaking crowd was in attendance again but, lest we forget, this was a fourth-round, regular season game in the URC.
RG Snyman of Leinster celebrates with team-mates after scoring their side’s fourth try during the United Rugby Championship match between Leinster and Munster at Croke Park in Dublin. Pic: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
It was nearly as traumatic as the previous meeting at Croker, however. This defeat will leave deep scars in the Munster ranks. Equally, it could be the catalyst which drives Leinster towards some belated silverware, in this competition or further afield.
Because this feels like a defining season for Leinster. There is a sense of, ‘if not now, when?’ about the entire setup.
Leo Cullen is in the final year of his contract and, after almost a decade at the helm, there is a feeling that the Leinster boss will step away next summer.
Seán O’Brien of Munster is tackled by Ciarán Frawley of Leinster’s during the URC match between Leinster and Munster at Croke Park in Dublin. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile
Jacques Nienaber has bedded in and Tyler Bleyendaal is already looking like a shrewd acquisition as backs and attack coach, based on some of yesterday’s offerings with ball in hand.
A clutch of frontliners are in their peak years. Tadhg Furlong, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris, Jamison Gibson-Park and Garry Ringrose are all looking like British and Irish Lions in waiting. They will be touring Oz with Faz next summer.
The academy continues to churn out brilliant young talent, and All Blacks star Jordie Barrett is arriving in December. Taking all that into account, this will surely be Leinster’s season.
And it feels like RG Snyman is the final piece of a jigsaw that will remove that Champions Cup-shaped monkey from their backs.
A general view of a line-out during the United Rugby Championship match between Leinster and Munster at Croke Park in Dublin. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile
Much was made of the back-to-back World Cup winner’s decision to switch to Leinster, high treason to the Thomond Park faithful.
Never mind that a host of players have made the opposite journey down the M7, players like Andrew Conway and Joey Carbery, to name but a few. But Snyman leaving Munster for their arch-rivals left a bitter taste for some.
The giant second row arrived as a marquee, potentially game-changing signing, but he left the club after four injury-ravaged seasons, making just 20 senior appearances.
Munster never saw the best of this Springbok behemoth, and the idea of Snyman ripping it up in a Leinster jersey was hard to take.
It would explain the small chorus of boos which echoed around the stadium when his name was read out during the pre-match build-up.
No matter, he would make a big impression once the first whistle was blown. Snyman can do things other forwards can only dream about. The clip of him plucking an early lineout out of the Dublin sky with one hand will probably go viral in the coming days.
There were a few other moments of freakish power during Leinster’s first-half purple patch.
Snyman is going to provide power surge to a squad already brimming with firepower. Dare we say it, a team which can finally land that coveted fifth star.
That epic 2009 Heineken Cup semi-final remains a landmark moment in this rivalry, a day when the power balance shifted. That side were the trailblazers.
Leinster have lorded it ever since. Yesterday felt like another line in the sand moment.
Everyone knows that Leinster have been the superior force for a long, long time. Here they made a statement. This wasn’t just about bragging rights on the provincial beat. It was about sending a message to their rivals across Europe.
Much has been made about Leinster’s lack of silverware for three consecutive seasons. No, they don’t have the trophies to show for all their efforts. But they were one or two moments away from a hattrick of Champions Cup titles.
As for the URC? They won four league titles on the bounce before the South African heavyweights joined. They’d be dominating that competition as well if they hadn’t taken their eyes off the domestic ball to focus on the looming threats of La Rochelle and Toulouse at the business end of recent seasons.
Leinster are a bloody good rugby team and they showed it yesterday.
A shellshocked Munster simply had no answer to the pace and pure power from the hosts during that devastating opening 20 minutes.
The scoreboard made for grim reading after just 17 minutes as James Lowe, Caelan Doris and Hugo Keenan had all breached a Munster defence which looked overwhelmed.
It wasn’t just the frequency of the scores, it was how easy they were. Lowe and Keenan cantered over the line with barely a hand laid on them. Munster were second-best in virtually every department. They couldn’t win a lineout, they were getting monstered in the collisions and they were chasing shadows in defence.
At one stage, Niall Scannell, his replacement Diarmuid Barron and Jeremy Loughman were off for running repairs.
Graham Rowntree was down on the touchline to survey the carnage. The Munster head coach would have been heartened by the response from his troops when a potential cricket score looked on the cards.
The lineout strike play which lead to Sean O’Brien’s try was a brief moment when Munster had the measure of their rivals. A nightmare first half for the visitors was compounded when Snyman looked up and saw Craig Casey in the defensive line.
The giant Springbok lock didn’t need a second invitation to make a beeline for the diminutive Munster scrum-half, who was never going to win this battle of physics, and plough his way over for Leinster’s bonus-point try just before the break.
Snyman left the action after 50 minutes with a big grin on his face. A big shift from an even bigger unit.
The only thing that will annoy Doris and Co is that they left the foot off the gas in the final quarter and allowed Munster to add a degree of respectability to the scoreline.
No matter, this was a memorable day for Leinster. The visitors, meanwhile, will be glad to see the back of the place.
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