Rugby is a game of momentum. Anybody who has played at any half decent level can tell you that.
If Leinster are penalised for even 10% of the litany of ruck offences they committed in the first half, Munster go into half time with points on the board.
If they are yellow carded for the infringement and penalty awarded when we scored immediately after their "final" warning, or for any of their subsequent penalties later on, the dynamics of the game change.
If they aren't allowed to score a blatantly illegal third try just after we had scored, setup by a player playing the ball off the ground after a counterruck, the dynamics of the game change.
If Beirne wasn't incorrectly penalised for a textbook turnover in the build up to the fourth try, Leinster don't get to finish with the polish that allows you to be so smug in your dismissal of that as a competitive game. But the possession, territory, tackles and time spent in red zone tell a different story.
We are poor - we lack incision inside the 22 and without Crowley lack anybody who can play heads up rugby. We have too many journeymen like Scannell and Wycherley who have spent their careers losing to Leinster and our set piece is awful. But that wasn't a vintage performance from Leinster either, and with a capable referee the scoreline and potentially even the result looks a lot different.
