For the second time this season the Munster-Leinster rivalry served up a bit of a damp squib as Leinster came out comfortable 28-7 victors in Thomond Park.

It’s very well known that Leinster have an embarrassment of riches at their disposal and probably for the first time ever, they have looked leagues ahead of Munster this season, with two bonus point victories against their fiercest rivals.

Even with the likes of Jordie Barrett, RG Snyman and Jamison Gibson-Park among many others not a part of Leinster’s trip to Limerick, Leo Cullen was still able to pick 12 Irish Internationals in the starting 15, with a further 4 on the bench.

Besides the start of the second half where Munster scored their try through Tom Ahern, Leinster’s quality showed, they were fairly comfortable and good for their win.

Leo Cullen Reveals Springbok-Esque Gameplan For Leinster In Munster Win

One of the stranger things that happened in the match came after just 22 minutes when Andrew Porter came on for Jack Boyle. Normally a sub this early in the match usually means that there was an injury involved, but the camera panned to the bench a couple of times to Jack Boyle, who bar taping a cut on his looked relatively fine.

In his press conference after the match Leinster Head Coach Leo Cullen revealed that the early substitution was actually planned with both players told beforehand that Cullen and his ticket were going to try this experiment.

It’s a move that looks like it has Jacques Nienaber fingerprints all over it. During his time as South Africa Head Coach, the Springboks were famed for their use of substitutions, especially the ‘Bomb Squad’ and many other tactical innovations as they pushed the boundaries of rugby tactics.

South Africa also experimented with first-half substitutes before as well, and when you have a player like Andrew Porter who regularly plays 70+ minutes in every match, 58 minutes is nothing but a short cameo for him.

Leinster may have one of the best squads in Europe, but Cullen and his coaching ticket know that just having a strong squad isn’t enough for success, they have to be innovative if they are to finally win the all elusive 5th Champions Cup.