Munster have booked their place in the URC final, producing a brilliant victory over old rivals Leinster in their semi-final at the Aviva Stadium this evening.
It was a sensational game between the two sides, one that went right down to the wire.
Munster had the better of the play in the first half, although they couldn't really make it count. They scuppered a number of excellent scoring opportunities, knocking the ball on during sustained assaults on the Leinster line on a couple of occasions.
Leinster would then take the lead into halftime on the back of this try from Jason Jenkins.
Half-time: Leinster 10-6 Munster - A cruel end to the first half as Jason Jenkins scores the opening try, despite Munster looking the more threatening side.
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However, this did not knock Munster back in the manner some would have expected.
They continued to play well, with Tadhg Beirne crossing for their opening try five minutes into the second half.
While Leinster would score another try to give them a two-point lead in the closing stages, Jack Crowley would have the final say. He stepped up to hit a clutch drop goal in the dying moments, with Munster ultimately running out as one-point winners.
Munster 16-15 Leinster - Has Jack Crowley won it for Munster? A drop-kick with minutes left on the clock puts them in front.
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They will now face into a URC final against Stormers, where they will hope to win this competition for the first time since 2011.
Leinster fans unhappy with referee performance in loss to Munster
Despite the dramatic nature of the defeat, Leinster can have no complaints with the result in this game. Munster were the better side throughout, bringing far more desire and intensity to the contest.
Of course, the outcome could have been very different if one or two key moments went their way.
Their supporters felt that their opponents got more rub of the green, something many believe was down to the referee.
There had been some controversy about Frank Murphy's appointment to this fixture. The 39-year old grew up in Cork and played for Munster during his own playing career, before spending time at Leicester and Connacht.
Stephen Ferris said earlier this week that he felt this would have no impact on the contest, although not everyone agrees with that assessment now that the game has been played.
Quite a few Leinster fans took to social media to call out what they felt was a clear bias against their team over the course of the contest.
Leinster robbed by Frank Murphy yet again. That's it, that's the tweet. #LEIvMUN
— Daniel Scott 🇮🇪 🇪🇺 (@Daniel_Scott_IE) May 13, 2023
Credit to Munster for taking what was in front of them… but Frank Murphy has reffed Leinster off the pitch in the second half #LEIvMUN
— Brian Dowling (@dowlking1) May 13, 2023
Frank Murphy. I just can’t understand anything that he does. He’s beyond pathetic and if you’re bad at your job you deserve vilification
— J (@BholdBhoy) May 13, 2023
Congratulations to Munster and Frank Murphy. A match made in heaven when he was born in Cork many moons ago.
Leinster weren’t good enough on the day against a very poor Munster team.— Kildare Gunner (@KildareGunner) May 13, 2023
Frank Murphy should be ashamed
— Hugo Whelan (@erbs09) May 13, 2023
Frank Murphy is a shambles shouldn’t be allowed to ref a Munster match as Munster native and former player. He won that game for Munster
— Craig Thompson (@thommocraig19) May 13, 2023
The referee Frank Murphy helping Munster to a win here #leinstermunster
— p sher (@Icansee_you_) May 13, 2023
This argument doesn't really stand up. The referee was largely fair throughout and had little impact on the final result.
In fact, Leinster can probably count themselves fortunate that he did not send Luke McGrath to the sin bin for what looked like a clear intentional knock-on in the opening half.
In the end, Munster thoroughly deserved the win.
SEE ALSO: Ronan O'Gara Questions Motive Behind La Rochelle Comments Made By Ex-Leinster Man
