Leinster have point to prove after Munster mauling
RTÉ · Neil Treacy · 2026-08-26T06:13:13+00:00 · nguồn gốc
Leinster have learned their lesson ahead of their rematch with Munster in the Vodafone Women's Interprovincial Championship final on Saturday, according to head coach Sana Govender.
Munster thrashed Leinster 39-19 when the sides met in the opening round robin game in Cork three weeks ago, although Munster head coach Matt Brown believes his side caught Leinster "cold" in the seven-try hammering.
The province rebounded with a 36-21 win against Connacht before a 75-5 stroll against Ulster to book their place in the decider, and get a shot at revenge against the defending champions, who also beat them in the final in 2025.
And their head coach believes they have learned a lot since their defeat in Cork earlier this month.
"You have to be on your 'A’ game," Govender said.
"Like I said before day one, before going into that game, we know what they [Munster] like to do, we know how they play, they're physical, they're fast, and they're relentless, they don't stop.
"And if you take backwards steps, if you don't match that physicality as a baseline, you'll start to lose your momentum completely, and it's hard to come back from."
Govender (below) agreed with the Munster head coach’s assertion that Leinster were "caught cold" in the opening round.
"I think we weren't at our best in any shape or form, and they happened to throw a lot of punches," the Leinster boss continued.
"They came at us, and if we look back on it, we have come a long way in a short space of time.
"Essentially, it's three weeks. It's not a long time to turn your whole game around, but it was an energy thing and a focus thing which probably affected us the most. He's not wrong.
"Hopefully, according to this weekend, nowhere near undercooked in any way, and prepared."
Govender’s Leinster had 11 players named in Ireland’s training squad this week ahead of the upcoming WXV Global series, seven of whom he can call upon in a star-studded backline, including out-half Dannah O’Brien who was rested in last week’s hammering of Ulster.
That backline had little opportunity to take Munster on in Cork three weeks ago, as the defending champions dominated physically, and Govender admits getting their set-piece right is a top priority.
"There's been a lot of work on it in the last two, two and a half weeks.
"Scrum, lineout, but not only that: Set piece you're talking about kick-offs, kick-receipts, and making sure that we're having a strong platform. If you lose physicality, if you lose your platform, you're going to struggle.
"You only have the ball for so much time. We have done our best to not only rectify, but become proficient at it.
"It was more the connection piece from having all your players together on the same page, and it takes time. Only Saturday will tell.
"We didn't show up on the day when we arrived for game one, and that's our biggest learning going into the final game. It wasn't to do with squad selection or player ability, it was just... We were off the mark, energy-wise, and you could tell when we got there.
"We were off the mark energy-wise, and we've worked really hard to try and turn that around. And it feels like we have, but Saturday will tell."