The 2021 Pro14 Grand Final was the final rugby match of the 2020–21 Pro14 season. The 2020–21 season was the seventh with Guinness as the title sponsor and the twelfth with a grand final. Leinster won the match 16–6 to win their fourth successive league title and their eighth overall.
Route to the final
In a change from previous seasons, the 2020–21 Pro14 regular season was shortened to 16 rounds and, forgoing the usual play-offs, the teams finishing in the first place of each conference will advance straight to the final. These changes were made due to the creation of the Rainbow Cup, which will see four South African Super Rugby teams (the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers) join the twelve remaining Pro14 teams in a new tournament.
Irish province Munster became the first team to qualify for the final, after their 20–17 win against Connacht in round 14 gave them an unassailable 12 point lead at the top of conference B with two rounds remaining. Defending champions Leinster secured top spot in conference A with a 38–19 away win against Ulster, advancing to their fourth straight league final.
Pre-match The match was televised free-to-air by TG4 in the Republic of Ireland. It was also shown on Eir Sport and on Premier Sports in the UK. It was shown on ESPN+ in the United States.
Final Summary In the first half, Ross Byrne kicked two penalties to put Leinster into a 6–0 lead after 11 minutes, before Joey Carbery then kicked two penalties for Munster to make the score 6–6 at half-time. The only try of the match came in the 46th minute from Leinster's Jack Conan when he charged for the line after a scrum and got over on the third attempt. Ross Byrne converted the try and added a third penalty in the 69th minute to make the final score 16–6, it was the sixth win in a row for Leinster against Munster.
Details
FB 15 Hugo KeenanRW 14 Jordan LarmourOC 13 Rory O'LoughlinIC 12 Robbie HenshawLW 11 Dave KearneyFH 10 Ross Byrne SH 9 Luke McGrath (c) N8 8 Jack ConanOF 7 Josh van der FlierBF 6 Rhys Ruddock RL 5 Scott Fardy LL 4 Devin TonerTP 3 Andrew Porter HK 2 Rónan Kelleher LP 1 Cian Healy Substitutions:HK 16 James Tracy PR 17 Ed Byrne PR 18 Tadhg Furlong LK 19 Ross Molony LK 20 Ryan Baird SH 21 Jamison Gibson-Park FH 22 Johnny Sexton WG 23 James LoweCoach: Leo Cullen FB 15 Mike HaleyRW 14 Andrew ConwayOC 13 Chris FarrellIC 12 Damian de Allende LW 11 Keith EarlsFH 10 Joey Carbery SH 9 Conor Murray N8 8 CJ StanderOF 7 Peter O'Mahony (c) BF 6 Gavin CoombesRL 5 Tadhg BeirneLL 4 Jean Kleyn TP 3 John Ryan HK 2 Niall Scannell LP 1 James Cronin Substitutions:HK 16 Kevin O'Byrne PR 17 Dave Kilcoyne PR 18 Stephen Archer LK 19 Billy Holland BR 20 Jack O'Donoghue SH 21 Craig Casey FH 22 JJ Hanrahan CE 23 Rory Scannell Coach: Johann van Graan Man of the Match: Jack Conan
Assistant referees: Chris Busby (IRFU) Seán Gallagher (IRFU) Television match official: Joy Neville (IRFU)
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References