Ciaran Frawley can move ahead in race to succeed Sexton

Leinster and Munster played out an absorbing, fiercely contested inter-provincial game last Saturday night in the Aviva.

Leinster will play another inter-pro before the clubs head into European action approaching Christmas, travelling to Galway to face Connacht on Saturday. Highly competitive and physical provincial rivalries are the best preparation for what's to come in Europe.

What is quite obvious at the moment is that Leinster look like a team that haven’t spent much time together.

With the amount of internationals that start for Leinster, it will take another game or two before they find the rhythm that they had last season. Add Johnny Sexton’s absence to the equation and they just aren’t flowing too well at the moment.

It was still enough to beat a very competitive Munster side, who were missing outgoing captain Peter O’Mahony and others like Alex Nankivell and Edwin Edogbo.

Munster challenged Leinster with their kicking game and aerial battle. Hugo Keenan was pressurised, and Jimmy O’Brien’s comfort in the air was put to the test because Leinster didn’t protect their catchers meaning Munster were able to get a foothold into the game.

It took Leinster until the second quarter to take that advantage away from Munster and there was a noticeable change in how Leo Cullen's men retreated to defend their catcher, securing much easier possession as a result.

With all the talk about Leinster’s firepower, it was Munster that struck first.

They broke away from the kicking battle to sweep behind their pod of forwards. Simon Zebo stepped inside Garry Ringrose - he wouldn’t be the only one to get around the Ringrose defensive cover on Saturday night - and Munster exploded into continuity play that both Mike Prendergast and Mossy