Early Leinster blitz sinks Munster at Croke Park

James Lowe's try helped Leinster lead 21-0 within 15 minutes at Croke Park

United Rugby Championship

Leinster (26) 26

Tries: Lowe, Doris, Keenan, Snyman Cons: Frawley 3

Munster (5) 12

Tries: O'Brien, Haley Cons: Crowley

Leinster's early scoring blitz helped them beat Munster 26-12 in front of a record 80,468 crowd for a United Rugby Championship contest at Croke Park.

The match was effectively put to bed as soon as the 15th minute following early tries from Ireland stars James Lowe, Caelan Doris and Hugo Keenan.

That helped Leinster lead 21-0 and, while 15 minutes of Munster pressure eventually yielded a try for Sean O'Brien, RG Snyman's touchdown in first-half added time against his former team-mates secured the Dublin-based side's bonus point.

Springboks star Snyman controversially moved to Leinster at the end of last season after his Munster contract had not been renewed following his injury-afflicted four years with the Thomond Park outfit.

Leinster didn't manage a second-half score but were never in any real danger of being caught despite Mike Haley's 66th-minute try.

Skipper Doris excels for Leinster

With Leinster including all their available Ireland stars, Munster looked to be up against it going into the Croke Park contest.

At the very least, Graham Rowntree's side needed to make a good start but the exact opposite happened as their defence was ripped apart in the opening 15 minutes.

Prop Tadhg Furlong's trademark burst had the Munster defence frantically backpedalling in the sixth minute and, after Ciaran Frawley was held up inches short of the line, Jamison Gibson-Park's long pass left wing Lowe in acres of space to dot down.

Man of the match Doris, whose breakdown work was typically exceptional, scored Leinster's second try in the 11th minute after yet more pressure, with Frawley again adding the extras.

By that stage, everything was going wrong for Munster with hooker Niall Scannell and fellow front row Jeremy Loughman forced off for periods after picking up knocks although they later came back on.

Leinster continued to pile the agony on to their rivals as slick passing from Jamie Osborne and Frawley released Keenan to score in the 15th minute.

By that stage, Munster looked shell-shocked but to their credit they regrouped with wing Nash having a try harshly ruled out for an adjudged forward pass by Alex Nankivell before a lineout move was finished by O'Brien's touchdown after a clever inside pass by Gavin Coombes, although Jack Crowley horribly shanked the conversion.

RG Snyman's try in first-half injury time against his former Munster team-mates secured Leinster's bonus point

After having largely soaked up Munster's 20 minutes of pressure, Leinster showed their clinical edge in the closing seconds of the first half.

Doris turned down a certain three points to instead chase a fourth try and his gamble paid off with the quick tap penalty yielding Snyman's score as he barged past former team-mates Craig Casey and Stephen Archer to touch down on the line.

The second half didn't produce a score until Coombes' clever grubber kick released Haley to win a foot race as Munster notched their second try in the 66th minute, with Crowley adding the extras on this occasion.

Another quick Munster score could have given Leinster something to think about in the closing minutes but it didn't come as Doris and his troops dominated possession thereafter.

Replacement Ross Byrne and Frawley missed penalty chances to add to Leinster's advantage but they mattered not as Leo Cullen's side maintained their winning start to this season to move back to the top of the United Championship table.

Leinster: Hugo Keenan; Liam Turner, Garry Ringrose, Jamie Osborne, James Lowe; Ciaran Frawley, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Lee Barron, Tadhg Furlong; RG Snyman, James Ryan; Jack Conan, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt).

Replacements: Gus McCarthy, Cian Healy, Thomas Clarkson, Ryan Baird, Max Deegan, Luke McGrath, Ross Byrne, Harry Byrne.

Munster: Mike Haley; Calvin Nash, Tom Farrell, Alex Nankivell, Sean O’Brien; Jack Crowley, Craig Casey; Jeremy Loughman, Niall Scannell, Stephen Archer; Jean Kleyn, Tadhg Beirne (capt); Jack O’Donoghue, John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes.

Replacements: Diarmuid Barron, Kieran Ryan, John Ryan, Tom Ahern, Ruadhan Quinn, Conor Murray, Tony Butler, Shay McCarthy.

Referee: C Busby (IRFU).