One of the bigger games of the weekend was the all Irish Magners League Grand Final, contested by bitter rivals Munster and Leinster. This time around, Munster took the title 19-9.
It was a task too large for Leinster, who a week prior had battled it out in the pulsating
Heineken Cup Final
. To come back from that and play another big final, especially against a side like Munster, was always going to be an uphill battle.
Leinster’s aim was to get the double though, regardless of what happened before. Munster held firm though, with Doug Howlett and Keith Earls breaching the visitor’s defence. Jonny Sexton did what he could to pull things back, but the Red Army were smiling come full time.
“I think today was a very good thing for Irish rugby. We havent always been where we would like to have been over the last two years, but I think that Leinster and Munster have always made each other better, and we have made the Irish team better by driving on standards,” said Paul O’Connell.
“Both sides have a lot of leadership, and no little skill. People talk about this being a good era for Ireland, and when you look at some of the young players coming through, you would be very confident for the future.
“Obviously I havent seen the game, but it seemed to me to be a very tough, high-standard game, with a lot of very good stuff at the breakdown in particular, which is so important. I think it would be a good advertisement for the Irish game, and for the Magners League in general, he said.
The quality of these highlights is admittedly not great, but they’re good for now, and then later in the week other bits from the game, notably one or two big hits, will be featured.
Time:
04:16
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