Leinster beat Munster 24-18 as Gavin Coombes' grab claim goes to citing commissioner

Munster lead, then Leinster rally

Munster opened with a Shane Daly try, converted by Charlie O'Shea, and were 13-0 ahead after 29 minutes. O'Shea had already kicked a penalty in the seventh minute and added another from the halfway line. Leinster got back into the match through Tommy O'Brien, who scored just before the interval after Jamison Gibson-Park, on his seasonal debut, released him with a long pass. Munster went in at half-time leading 13-5, having enjoyed most of the possession and territory in the first half.

The Coombes allegation

Late in the first half, Munster back row Gavin Coombes said he had been grabbed in the groin area by a Leinster player at a ruck. Referee Andrew Brace stopped play and spoke with TMO Colin Stanley, who searched the footage but found no video evidence to support the claim. Because the allegation was made, Brace's report will go to the match citing commissioner, Peter Ferguson of Scotland, who has a window of 50 hours from full-time to investigate. None of the reports name the Leinster player involved. Munster head coach Clayton McMillan said the matter was in the hands of the authorities and that he backed his player.

“It's one of those things that we leave in the hands of the powers that be.”

Leinster head coach Leo Cullen said he could see nothing on first view and suggested that Coombes appeared to change his mind partway through the accusation. Asked to clarify, he said that once such an accusation is made it becomes a serious matter for the citing commissioner.

“But from what I've seen, I can't see anything.”

Cullen admitted the claim, made against one of his own players, was not ideal for his side. He also laughed off a full-time exchange with Munster defence coach Denis Leamy, who previously worked as his assistant at Leinster.

Second half and bonus point

Leinster scored four tries in total, with Ryan Baird, Charlie Tector and Jamie Osborne adding tries after the break to turn the match around. Gibson-Park was named man of the match. Munster conceded 17 penalties and lost centre Alex Nankivell to a yellow card in the third quarter. Daly left the field on a stretcher after a second-half injury, and Ben O'Connor scored a late try that gave Munster a losing bonus point. The match was watched by a crowd of 37,193 at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

Leinster24

Munster18

Leinster

24 points

Munster

18 points

Data from the article text

What happens next

The citing process is now the next step, with the 50-hour window from full-time set as the timeframe for the commissioner to investigate. The reports say the incident could not be identified on video during the match, so any outcome depends on the citing review. Separately, Andy Farrell named a 36-man Ireland squad for the November series that includes only two Munster players, Tadhg Beirne and Craig Casey, according to a column by Bernard Jackman in the Irish Independent.