United Rugby Championship: Munster miss out on home quarter-final after defeat to understrength Leinster

The Limerick outfit needed two points to guarantee a home quarter-final but they faltered against a spirited and incredibly well-drilled team.

Leo Cullen sent out his second string, resting pretty much their whole first team for next weekend’s Champions Cup final, but this makeshift squad produced a superb display.

They showed their intent early on, going 8-0 ahead through Scott Penny’s try and Harry Byrne’s penalty, but Munster responded with efforts from Jack O’Donoghue and Mike Haley.

Expert Witness: Eddie Jones exclusive

Expert Witness: Eddie Jones exclusive

Eddie Jones on youngster Henry Arundell

Although Cormac Foley touched down to give Leinster a 15-12 half-time lead, Conor Murray’s score a minute into the second period seemed to settle the visitors down.

However, the Dubliners hit back, earning a penalty try before Rory O’Loughlin crossed the whitewash.

That gave the hosts enough of a gap to control the encounter, with Byrne and Joey Carbery penalties the only scores in the final quarter.

Leinster have a home quarter-final against Glasgow while Munster, ending up in sixth place, will travel to Ulster in the last eight.

Returning to the scene of their heartbreaking European exit, Johann van Graan’s men were stunned when Ciaran Frawley’s cross-field kick played in Penny in the right corner.

After fly-half Byrne tagged on a penalty for 8-0, Munster’s stand-in captain O’Donoghue clawed back five points with an excellent finish out wide from a long Keith Earls pass.

Ever-alert full-back Haley sniped in under the posts in the 16th minute, making it a quick-fire double for the visitors.

Jordan Larmour’s electric run inspired Leinster’s second try, finished by scrum-half Foley following Frawley’s midfield break. Byrne’s