Leinster 35-25 Munster: URC top seeds prove too strong for rivals

Top seeds Leinster are chasing a fifth consecutive league title

Leinster's largely second-string side secured a commanding 10-point win over Munster, who will now meet Ulster in Belfast in an intriguing United Rugby Championship quarter-final.

Having already secured top seeding for the play-offs, Leinster ran out deserved winners in Dublin with a bonus-point victory.

They will host Glasgow in the last eight.

The defeat sees Munster finish the regular season in sixth place.

It is a bitterly disappointing result for a side that came into the day knowing a bonus-point win against their interpro rivals - who were without their biggest names - would see them claim second place.

However they now will travel north to Belfast where they must try to defeat Ulster at their own ground, as they did in April.

Leinster head coach Leo Cullen selected an entirely different starting XV from the side that romped past Toulouse to book their place in the Champions Cup final.

The depth of the eastern province's squad is such that they were still able to field a side of considerable experience to match a fully-loaded Munster team, and it was the hosts who struck first as Scott Penny gathered Harry Byrne's crossfield kick to score in just the second minute.

Munster, who knew a defeat would not only see them miss out on second place but could also put them out of the top-four, responded well with Jack O'Donoghue finishing smartly in the corner.

They went ahead four minutes later as full-back Mike Haley sniped through a gap at the fringe of a ruck, but were pegged back in the 22nd minute as Cormac Foley scored the fourth try of a remarkable opening 22 minutes when he collected Ciaran Frawley's pass following Jordan Larmour's scintillating initial break.

The breathless nature of the first quarter perhaps caught up with both sides as what followed until the interval was a far slower, error-strewn period in which Munster's malfunctioning line-out continually blighted their attempts to recapture the lead.

They were handed a boost just a minute before half-time when Rob Russell was shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on that would see the hosts start the second half with 14 men.

Conor Murray's 41st minute try saw Munster retake the lead, but they could not hold off their interpro rivals

Less than a minute into the second period Munster capitalised on their numerical advantage as Haley led a ferocious kick chase that forced Jamie Osborne to spill the ball in the air, with Conor Murray on hand to scoop up the loose ball and score.

Leinster, guaranteed top spot before the final round of matches as they chase a fifth straight league title, were in no mood to lie down against their inter-provincial rivals and were soon back in Munster territory thanks to an inspired 50:22 from Foley.

From the resulting line-out Leinster set-up a maul and were rolling towards the Munster line when it was taken down, prompting referee Frank Murphy to award the penalty try and send hooker Niall Scannell to the sin-bin.

The double blow to Munster would soon be further compounded as Larmour - enjoying a sparkling display from full-back - once again jinked his way past multiple defenders before the ball was worked wide to Rory O'Loughlin who threw a dummy and finished.

Trailing by 10, Munster won a penalty inside Leinster territory and opted to take the points on offer with Carbery kicking to reduce the gap to seven as they sought to chip away at Leinster's lead instead of going to the corner in search of a fourth try that would have secured a bonus-point.

The gamble did not pay off, as instead of exacting late pressure they found themselves behind by 10 again thanks to Harry Byrne's long-range 71st minute penalty, which would prove to be the final points of the contest.

Leinster: Larmour; Russell, Osborne, Frawley, O'Loughlin; H Byrne, Foley; E Byrne (capt), Cronin, Clarkson, McCarthy, J Murphy, Baird, Penny, Deegan.

Replacements: McKee, Dooley, Healy, Toner, Soroka, B Murphy, Hawkshaw, A Byrne.

Munster: Haley; Conway, Farrell, Goggin, Earls; Carbery, Murray; J Wycherley, Scannell, Ryan, Kleyn, Ahern, F Wycherley, Kendellen, O'Donoghue (capt).

Replacements: Barron, Loughman, Knox, Jenkins, Daly, Patterson, Healy, Scannell.