Leinster get the better of dogged Munster at the Aviva

On 45 minutes, the Munster miracle looked on.

As Gavin Coombes sent his cousin Liam over in the corner for the opening Munster try, and the Joey Carbery conversion pushed them 13-7 in front, the 44,000-plus crowd at the Aviva Stadium were getting a game they probably hadn't bargained for.

When the teams were announced at 12pm on Friday, the sight of Johnny Sexton, Tadhg Furlong, Caelan Doris, Garry Ringrose and co looked a level above Munster's, in large part down to a lengthy injury list which claimed Tadhg Beirne and Peter O’Mahony in the last week.

And even with Furlong forced to withdraw before kickoff due to an ankle knock, it seemed more likely than not that Leinster would extend their winning run in the BKT United Rugby Championship.

In the end, the international experience Leo Cullen’s side could draw on ultimately counted, as they secured a bonus-point 27-13 win, but while they produced four well-worked tries, particularly their final effort from Rob Russell, they looked well off their best.

They hit back from that 13-7 deficit almost instantly with a Dan Sheehan try, moving 22-13 in front after a Luke McGrath score just after the hour mark, and it was enough to see them through for a sixth win from six.

For Munster, it’s a fourth defeat from seven games, but they will take plenty of positives.

By the time Coombes ran in that first try, they’d taken everything Leinster had to throw at them, enduring two yellow cards – for Keynan Knox and Jean Kleyn – in the process.

They survived plenty of close calls in the opening half, with Leinster’s inaccuracy costing them throughout the first 40, often times down to rugged, scrappy Munster defending.

Even as the game appeared to be getting away from them, Munster were relentless,