Leinster v Munster URC Semi Final Aviva Stadium Sat 13th 5.30pm

[Jame Slowe]

20 offloads by Munster away from home to the home sides 3 offloads, damn you Frank Murphy!!

[Ruckedtobits]

We lost because not in spite of Murphy. No Murphy we are in the final. I have never in all my time seen a reffing performance like it. It seemed bad in the stadium but you think I am missing something here and it will make sense when I look back on it. Yeah I looked back and it was worse than first imagined. Because of Rassie we all have to pretend the ref is sacrosanct but it was so bad it seems wilful. That's on the URC as rhey must have knew the risk of the optics here. As for the Munster media cabal- they can go and ask my hole

You been smoking that peyote again?! Munster won fair and square, clearly the better side on the day, should have been out of sight long before the last 10.

You're dreaming. The referee's influence on the game was profound, from the first minute, and continued until the 78th minute.

[leinster10]

We lost because not in spite of Murphy. No Murphy we are in the final. I have never in all my time seen a reffing performance like it. It seemed bad in the stadium but you think I am missing something here and it will make sense when I look back on it. Yeah I looked back and it was worse than first imagined. Because of Rassie we all have to pretend the ref is sacrosanct but it was so bad it seems wilful. That's on the URC as rhey must have knew the risk of the optics here. As for the Munster media cabal- they can go and ask my hole

You been smoking that peyote again?! Munster won fair and square, clearly the better side on the day, should have been out of sight long before the last 10.

You're dreaming. The referee's influence on the game was profound, from the first minute, and continued until the 78th minute.

This whinging about the ref is getting embarrassing at this stage and making us look like real sore losers. For a minute consider the favorable decisions we received, we committed 12 penalties with continuous penalties in our 22 without a yellow. McGrath was lucky to stay on the park. Baird try was disallowed by TMO. Murphy missed a clear head collision in tackle by henshaw on loughman on our line and I urge everyone to look at Healy’s forearm to the face of Wycherley in an effort to counteruck in the ruck preceding the final ruck for Crowley’s dropgoal. I actually heard one guy blame the ref for putting off Byrne for the restart. Turning into trump election deniers. Get over it we lost to a better team on the day..... but we have a final to win on Saturday.

[leinster10]

This whinging about the ref is getting embarrassing at this stage and making us look like real sore losers. For a minute consider the favorable decisions we received, we committed 12 penalties with continuous penalties in our 22 without a yellow. McGrath was lucky to stay on the park. Baird try was disallowed by TMO. Murphy missed a clear head collision in tackle by henshaw on loughman on our line and I urge everyone to look at Healy’s forearm to the face of Wycherley in an effort to counteruck in the ruck preceding the final ruck for Crowley’s dropgoal. I actually heard one guy blame the ref for putting off Byrne for the restart. Turning into trump election deniers. Get over it we lost to a better team on the day..... but we have a final to win on Saturday.

[Logorrhea]

making us look like real sore losers

Who gives a flying f*ck what other people think?

[TheThreeJays]

Jesus wept. What did I just read. Never mind your ma I'd say you'd out your children in a nursing home

[desperado]

Who was the citing commisioner for the semi v Munster?

It was never announced by URC but considering it was an interpro I expect it was Brian McNiece. Wouldn't expect any citings though - they rarely happen in interpros and especially not at this point of the season

Barron's swinging arm to Will Connors chin, which knocked him out - could easily have been a red. Maybe reduced to yellow on mitigation - low height Will was at etc. It was very dangerous, he was knocked out and then he head hit the ground with force. There's a narrative going around that he was knocked out when his head hit the ground which is factually incorrect.

[Blue Man]

I hate losing to the turnips but people need to park the whinging about the ref.
We looked a bit off the pace, lacked the hunger that the opposition had and most importantly had little creative edge when faced with a rush defence. It’s the same defence that we’ll face on Saturday so I sincerely hope JGP, Ross and the brains trust have some tricks. At a basic we can play with more depth and vary the attacking kicking game.
I think that our half backs failed to control the game in Saturday. Luke looked off the pace. We still very nearly won on Saturday, so onwards and upwards.

[Jame Slowe]

We lost because not in spite of Murphy. No Murphy we are in the final. I have never in all my time seen a reffing performance like it. It seemed bad in the stadium but you think I am missing something here and it will make sense when I look back on it. Yeah I looked back and it was worse than first imagined. Because of Rassie we all have to pretend the ref is sacrosanct but it was so bad it seems wilful. That's on the URC as rhey must have knew the risk of the optics here. As for the Munster media cabal- they can go and ask my hole

You been smoking that peyote again?! Munster won fair and square, clearly the better side on the day, should have been out of sight long before the last 10.

You're dreaming. The referee's influence on the game was profound, from the first minute, and continued until the 78th minute.

You guys should be way more annoyed with Harry than the ref, Harry had a shocker. Conan gave away a braindead stonewall penalty dragging his knuckles along the ground supporting his weight before attempting to jackal. How many lost balls in contact? Clarkson with a shocking knock on. Damn you Frank Murphy!

[riocard911]

My final word on our loss to Munster last Saturday:

Much as I previously expressed my disappointment with how Murphy and Whitehouse dealt with the Connors KO in the second minute of the game, one has to consider their position. In recent months we've have Eddie Jones and a whole host of proponents of "real man" rugby bemoaning red cards for high hits and pursuing a full-bore offensive against World Rugby's efforts to make the game safer, by punishing blows to the head, thereby reducing the risk of long-term neurological damage. As a result, World Rugby caved to the English press and assorted Nigels, by stabbing Jaco Peyper in the back, when they reduced Stewart's elbow/shoulder charge on Keenan from a red to a yellow. In that context, what are you gonna do in Frank Murphy's and Ben Whitehouse's shoes at that moment? Get the thing up on the big screen, go thru all the protocols and red card Barron - only to be pilloried afterwards from pillar to post for "ruining the contest" when 15 man Leinster run in a cricket score against 14 Turnips? Much as I personally think they made the wrong decision, I can perfectly understand them taking the course of action they took. The whole sad incident for me is on that scumbag Eddie Jones and his ilk. This is what they demanded and this is what they got. I can't imagine the likes of Fergus Slattery's wife were too impressed....

[chrismcc]

Wonder will Owen Doyle have the cojones to call Murphy on his ineptitude in his weekly column.

Here's your answer, nothing to see here move along...

He doesn't address a single factual point or incident in the match. I'm tempted to ask Chatgpt to write an article in the style of Owen Doyle or maybe gerry thornely but make it honest. I'm afraid it would break the internet though. I know it's my ow(e) n fault. I should know better and will restrict myself to analysis I respect from now on.

Maybe one of the Brogans should ref the next Dublin Kerry game

Owen Doyle: Leo Cullen was right not to be a Jack Russell to the referee

Munster may reinvigorate a great rivalry, and Jack Crowley showed why drop goals are so precious


Corkman Frank Murphy refereed last weekend's Munster-Leinster match equitably, no matter what detractors say.
Mon May 15 2023 - 20:12

In days of yore, New Zealander Rob Penney was head coach in Munster. The Leinster versus Munster match came around in 2014 and, being a member of the referee selection panel, I gave him a call.

I explained that the likely choice of referee would probably not be to his liking, but that World Cup final referee Alain Rolland was also available, although he as a Dubliner, of course, would not technically be a neutral appointment. Without hesitation, actually with enthusiasm, Penney chose Rolland. My next call was to Matt O’Connor, the then Leinster coach – same proposition, exactly the same answer.

Munster lost, and Penney then promptly lost “it”. He vigorously (a polite way of putting it) blamed Rolland after the defeat.

Rolland, in fact, had refereed equitably, and any mistakes were just that – mistakes, and nothing to do with bias. I felt the same about Frank Murphy’s performance on Saturday – he had refereed equitably, and again with no hint of bias

Leo Cullen is far too polite to have a Penney-like go at Murphy, his team-mate in their Leicester playing days and who, in any case, would not deserve it. Despite the extra pressure of refereeing his own province, it was a good enough day’s work by the Corkman. Cullen, inevitably, will want some answers on several penalties, but he will know that the referee did not cost his team the result.

It was breathtaking stuff, with Jack Crowley’s winning drop goal being in the Sexton-O’Gara mould. It’s startling to me that several rugby friends in the Southern Hemisphere want to see the laws devalue the drop goal to one point. Union must ensure its own characteristics, it doesn’t need to further copy the league playbook.

There’s a lot more to a drop goal than just the kick, as we saw on Saturday. And before Jonny Wilkinson’s winning strike against Australia in the World Cup final with his weaker right foot, the ball had been handled by about 10 English players, starting with Steve Thompson’s unerring long throw to the tail of the lineout.

Murphy will take a bit of a bashing from social media, and the crowd let him know their perception of bias on a few occasions. The problem with this type of perception is that it’s a bit like a Jack Russell getting hold of your trouser leg, it’s very difficult to shake off, and the use of Munster players’ first names wasn’t the best of ideas.

It was a great Munster performance, and if this rivalry starts again to mirror the heady days when it filled Croke Park with over 80,000 spectators, Leinster may well again request the use of that great stadium. They might also ask the GAA about their policy of appointing officials – I can’t see Kerry playing an All-Ireland semi-final with a referee from Tralee any time soon.

The URC has hotly pursued a policy of neutrality, but have found themselves in a bind for the knock-out stages. The best available on the URC list for the upcoming final are the international duo, Andy Brace and Jaco Peyper, an Irishman and a South African – neither ideal considering the identity of the two finalists. Either appointment would, of course, let the Jack Russell back into the room. The best of the next group is currently Italy’s Andrea Piardi, but let’s see who comes out of the hat.


Irishman Andy Brace will be among the referees at this year's World Cup - and may take charge of the forthcoming URC final between Stormers and Munster.

Mike Adamson was in charge for Connacht’s visit to the Stormers. He has not been convincing over the season, and thus has failed in his bid to make the World Cup list. It’s a shocking indictment that no Scot has been chosen as a referee since Jim Fleming, who performed in four and finished up as long ago as the 1999 edition.

Adamson did not have a bearing on the result, but he never seemed to come to terms with either the breakdown or the scrum. Munster will throw the kitchen sink at the Stormers, and the match will need a different refereeing approach, one which puts a lot more structure on these key areas.

He was, though, quite correct to disallow Jack Carty’s conversion attempt of Conor Oliver’s try. The law is clear – any step forward, or indeed, backwards, is considered to be the start of the kicker’s run-up. Carty did not seem to be aware that he could have picked up the ball and converted by means of a drop goal.

And so to the World Cup match officials. Nearer the time it will be interesting to delve further into these but, for the moment, hearty congrats to all those who have made it, particularly the Irish. Brace has deservedly made the panel of 12 referees; Chris Busby travels as an assistant, an invaluable experience; and there are two TMOs in Brian MacNeice and Joy Neville. It is, of course, the latest glass ceiling which Neville has blissfully ignored, becoming the first woman to officiate at a men’s World Cup.

Well done to everyone, although they will know that getting a seat on the plane to France, hard as it has been, was, in fact, the easy part. The tough stuff starts soon enough.

[chrismcc]

Double

[chrismcc]

Triple

[Logorrhea]

Murphy, for whatever reason decided early that it was the ground that did the damage, while any of the replays show he was out once Barrons arm connected with his face. He could have easily mitigated it down to a yellow (Connors was ducking) but to dismiss it as only a penalty, when there was direct contact with the head (he called it a high tackle) is a massive failure on his (and his TMOs) part.

[DevinStoner]

This blaming the ref will have to stop, just makes us look like sore losers. We're a laughing stock on the Munster fora.

[suisse]

It seems like a uniquely Irish trait to make fun of others (Saffers especially) for complaing about referees when, if a result goes against us, we do the exact same thing. Fans of all teams moan. It would be nice if Irish fans dropped the nauseating high horse mentality. This was especially evident after the H Cup semi final. The Toulouse and French fans were furious about Barnes but they were labeled bad losers.

Murphy was shite on Saturday but then so many games are characterized by terrible officiating. Complain all you want but just remember the next time we win, the opposition will likely have plenty to say about the officials.

[suisse]

We have this same argument every season.

If Munster fans want to support La R, so what.
If Munster fans want to support Leinster, so what.
If Munster fans want to remain neutral, so what.

If Leinster fans want to support Stormers, so what.
If Leinster fans want to support Munster, so what.
If Leinster fans want to remain neutral, so what.

Support whomever you want in either final. This is no right or wrong way to approach this. You're not breaking the law or any rules on being an Irish Rugby fan. I don't think the T&Cs mentiom this. Undoubtedly it is the people who support all the Irish teams who like to pontificate the most. Do whatever you like.

[Oldschoolsocks]

We have this same argument every season.

If Munster fans want to support La R, so what.
If Munster fans want to support Leinster, so what.
If Munster fans want to remain neutral, so what.

If Leinster fans want to support Stormers, so what.
If Leinster fans want to support Munster, so what.
If Leinster fans want to remain neutral, so what.

Support whomever you want in either final. This is no right or wrong way to approach this. You're not breaking the law or any rules on being an Irish Rugby fan. I don't think the T&Cs mentiom this. Undoubtedly it is the people who support all the Irish teams who like to pontificate the most. Do whatever you like.

dunno about that Suisse, have a lil' bit of a read back maybe?

anyhoo zero fox given I'll be cheering on whoever I want weekend after next

[FLIP]

It seems like a uniquely Irish trait to make fun of others (Saffers especially) for complaing about referees when, if a result goes against us, we do the exact same thing. Fans of all teams moan. It would be nice if Irish fans dropped the nauseating high horse mentality. This was especially evident after the H Cup semi final. The Toulouse and French fans were furious about Barnes but they were labeled bad losers.

Murphy was shite on Saturday but then so many games are characterized by terrible officiating. Complain all you want but just remember the next time we win, the opposition will likely have plenty to say about the officials.

Barnes was clear,. consistent and most of all not an ex Leinster player.

Murphy was biased and the stats show it. He had no business being in charge of the game and the results speak for themselves.

[munster#1]

it’s funny to see a different perspective on this.

For me, I was going mad watching the match because Leinster, as they always do, were playing the ref to perfection.
One thing that drove ne mad was that, to me, it appeared that Casey had to step over an offside player at almost every ruck. This is smart play, because it slowed down the attacking teams ball.
Yet, this was never penalised.

McGrath should definitely have seen a yellow. His deliberate knock on and his tackle while off his feet, both within the Leinster 22, would have seen him march in most games.

Imo, Murphy attempted to allow the game to flow, ignoring minor indiscretions at the breakdown, which is not uncommon. Whilst it can be annoying, imo it makes for a better spectacle that a game where the ref blows for everything.
Both teams had potential yellow cards not given, again, is not uncommon.
So imo, on the balance of things, Murphy was poor for both sides, and the fact that the bias is demonstrated by only the scrum penalty which wasn’t, and a potential yellow which would split opinion, shows that he can’t of been that bad.