Leinster 16 - 6 Munster: Heaslip leads Leinster into grand final

JAMIE Heaslip took Leinster into the Magners League grand final on 29 May with a win over defending champions Munster which ended the visitors' bid to retain their title.

• The Magners League semi-final between Leinster and Munster was a hard-fought affair in which tempers flared. Picture: Julien Behal/PA

Rob Kearney scored the only try of a typically pulsating interprovincial derby at the RDS on Saturday but man-of-the-match Heaslip was the player the table toppers turned to time and again. The Ireland and Lions No8 was in scintillating form in defence and attack, his best moment being a searing 60-metre break that almost saw him outpace Keith Earls.

Collectively, Leinster were at a different level as the second half wore on, scoring 13 telling points in a 15-minute spell coming up to the hour mark.

Jonathan Sexton, back from a fractured jaw, converted Kearney's try and kicked three penalties in all as Michael Cheika's men set up a Dublin decider against the Ospreys.

Stand-in captain Ronan O'Gara picked off a penalty and a drop goal for a valiant Munster side that kept fighting right until the end, but they were continually frustrated by Leinster's superior defence.

A rush of blood to the head saw Shane Horgan tackle an airborne Niall Ronan as he gathered a high ball, resulting in a yellow card for the Leinster winger. But the hosts managed to move ahead while down to 14 men, with Eoin Reddan and Brian O'Driscoll sniping through and Sexton punishing a Tomas O'Leary offside to give his side an 18th-minute lead.

Paul Warwick had a drop goal hit the crossbar, before Munster got off the mark in the 29th minute. A solid hit by Earls on O'Driscoll pressed Leinster into a hurried clearance and a subsequent offside allowed O'Gara kick his side level.

With the sides tied at 3-3, the second half saw the pace ratcheted up. Within ten seconds of the resumption, O'Gara had used a quick feed from Niall Ronan to knock over a sumptuous drop goal for an all-too-brief advantage.

Led by the barnstorming Heaslip, Leinster dominated the third quarter and an ominously slick back-line move led to Kearney making the breakthrough in the 44th minute.

Gordon D'Arcy popped the ball to Sexton on a clever wraparound, the out-half then sped through a gap and drew the covering Warwick before sending Kearney over in the right corner.

Sexton added a terrific conversion for a 10-6 scoreline and the margin grew to seven points when Marcus Horan had a penalty reversed against him for punching and Sexton landed the resulting kick.

Munster had most of the attacking play in the final quarter, but there was no sign of Leinster wilting and a late surge from O'Driscoll and D'Arcy showed the potency they possess.