Sinéad Kissane: Turbulent end can't mask real progress for Irish women
Scott Bemand gets reminder of Ireland's flaws and need for greater depth in painful defeat to Scots after season of positives
When the regional aeroplane that included the Ireland squad landed in Edinburgh Airport on Thursday, the flight attendant proudly announced to those on board that they had arrived on schedule.
Air miles have been part of the Ireland itinerary this season, with six of their nine games away from home. They travelled to Canada for the WXV1 competition last autumn and then flew to Parma, Cardiff and Edinburgh in this Women's Six Nations campaign. But such is sport that when it looks like you've arrived, it turns out there's still a way to travel.
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The Irish Sun
21 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
‘Hello June' – Peter O'Mahony's wife cheers him on during last game from afar in picturesque setting
PETER O'Mahony's wife Jessica roared him on from afar as his last Munster match ended in as heartbreaking of a fashion as possible. Durban, South Africa was the setting as the Reds were 6 Jessica and their kids said hello to June by visiting Barley Cove 6 Last month she said of the Cork beach that there's 'nowhere better when the sun shines' 6 Grandmother O'Mahony with her three grandchildren Indie, Theo and Ralph 6 Like many Munster fans, she was irritated by Jaden Hendrikse's conduct during the shoot-out Jessica was back home in their native Cork - roughly 13,500 km away. Nonetheless, that didn't stop her from She posted a snap of him supposedly being struck down with a calf cramp moments after converting one of his kicks - thus delaying Jack Crowley's attempt. Her caption of "This guy? Bad form" spoke for a large swathes of the province's fanbase. Read More On Irish Sport It is of course impossible for anyone other than the Sharks scrum-half to know definitively whether he did genuinely cramp up or whether it was an act of gamesmanship. Those of a South African persuasion have pointed to the manner with which his calf muscles were tensed up - although his wink to Crowley was definitely unnecessary no matter what. Even former Munster head honcho and current Springboks chief Rassie Erasmus The 52-year-old tweeted a zoomed in photo of Hendrikse's legs, seemingly showcasing that they did look to be genuinely tensed up due to a painful calf cramp. Most read in Rugby Union Alongside it, he added a caption merely containing an emoji of a man shrugging his shoulders. It's been taken as 'Jack Crowley he's coming for you' jokes Peter O'Mahony's wife Jess as son practices his rugby skills Among the replies, one person commented: "Irish, Scots and Welsh super pathetic cry babies." While Vince pointed out: "I thought this was classic. They didn't miss the kick at this interaction so no influence on the result. At least he didn't swear a book load of swear words at everyone…." Lastly, another Springbok follower added: "The Irish have to be the pettiest rugby fans on the planet. "Even when they lost against the All Blacks in the RWC there was some unsportsmanlike allegations against the ABs yet the entire rugby community had to put up with Johnny Sexton for a decade." 6 Peter, 35, watched the tail-end of the contest from the bench after being withdrawn early in the second half 6 He does still have one playing commitment left as he will line out for the Barbarians in an exhibition on June 29 Credit: @jeskaomahony Post-match, Premier Sports pundit Alan Quinlan accused the Irish side's opposition sideline of 'shocking behaviour'. He fumed: "It's shocking really, the way they're behaving, the people on the sideline there. They're obviously screaming and shouting stuff at the Munster players. "It's obviously not very sportsmanlike. Unlike Rory Scannell there to respond as well." Saturday's defeat was the final game in the Munster careers of O'Mahony, O'Mahony and Archer will be hanging up the boots for good at the end of the season, while Murray will be continuing his career abroad.
The Irish Sun
a day ago
- The Irish Sun
Rassie Erasmus pours fuel on fire as Munster accused of being ‘cry babies' by Sharks fans over cramp flashpoint
RASSIE Erasmus has waded into the war of words between Munster and Sharks fans since the controversial end to Saturday's battle. 100 minutes of fiercely contested action couldn't separate the two sides before the home club eventually progressed to the URC play-off semi-finals Advertisement 5 Jack Crowley was clearly seen shouting 'f*** off' during his bust-up with Jaden Hendrikse 5 The ex-Munster boss has now backed up his countrymen in the raging debate 5 It's since come to be known as 'wink-gate' Credit: X 5 It must be said a few of the South African memes are funny if frustrating Credit: X During said shoot-out, Sharks scrum-half Jaden Hendrikse collapsed to the ground moments after converting his second kick. It's worth noting that this came after earlier Niall Scannell was the only man across the two teams to miss any of their kicks as the Reds' season came to a bitter end after a monumental effort in Durban. While Sharks' staff didn't conduct themselves in the most gracious of ways while also arguing with Crowley, Hendrikse has emerged as the chief villain for disgruntled Munster supporters. Advertisement Read More On Irish Sport And now a man with allegiance to both Munster and South African rugby has waded into the ongoing debate on Hendrikse's alleged "s***housery". Erasmus tweeted a zoomed in photo of Hendrikse's legs, seemingly showcasing that they did look to be genuinely tensed up due to a painful calf cramp. Alongside it, the 52-year-old added a caption merely containing an emoji of a man shrugging his shoulders. It's been taken as Advertisement Most read in Rugby Union Among the replies, one person commented: "Irish, Scots and Welsh super pathetic cry babies." While Vince pointed out: "I thought this was classic. They didn't miss the kick at this interaction so no influence on the result. At least he didn't swear a book load of swear words at everyone…." 'Jack Crowley he's coming for you' jokes Peter O'Mahony's wife Jess as son practices his rugby skills Lastly, another Springbok follower added: "The Irish have to be the pettiest rugby fans on the planet. "Even when they lost against the All Blacks in the RWC there was some unsportsmanlike allegations against the ABs yet the entire rugby community had to put up with Johnny Sexton for a decade." Advertisement Premier Sports pundit - and former and star - Alan Quinlan accused their opposition sideline of 'shocking behaviour'. He fumed: "It's shocking really, the way they're behaving, the people on the sideline there. They're obviously screaming and shouting stuff at the Munster players. 5 Erasmus himself is well-known for deploying mind games to help his side win Credit: Rex "It's obviously not very sportsmanlike. Unlike Rory Scannell there to respond as well." Advertisement Saturday's defeat was the final game in the Munster careers of O'Mahony and Archer will be hanging up the boots for good at the end of the season, while Murray will be continuing his career abroad. MUNSTER MEN And interim Munster head coach Ian Costello paid tribute to the departing trio. He said: "Those three are exceptional people and legends of Munster rugby. 'And they've left, or they will leave, a massive legacy behind. That's going to be very difficult for us to live up to and fill, but that's what you want. Advertisement 'You want somebody to leave it in a better place. And they've left the jersey in an unbelievably good place. Now it's for everyone else in the dressing room, moving on to next year, to live up to that. 'There's also our team manager, Niall O'Donovan, who's an even longer servant of Munster rugby. It was his last game as well. "The last few weeks have been pretty special in terms of making sure those boys got a good send-off, which is why tonight was particularly disappointing.'
The 42
3 days ago
- The 42
Bulls see off plucky Edinburgh to book home semi with either Sharks or Munster
Bulls 42 Edinburgh 33 THE VODACOM BULLS recovered from an early deficit to beat Edinburgh in an 11-try thriller at Loftus Versfeld Stadium and book a home URC semi-final against either the Sharks or Munster next Saturday. The Bulls twice trailed by two scores in the first half, with Wes Goosen and a Ross Thompson double — initially answered only by a close-range Cameron Hanekom try — putting Edinburgh in the ascendancy on the half-hour mark. Edinburgh's first two tries came with the Bulls down to 14, Sebastian de Klerk sin-binned for a high shot on Darcy Graham. But with Willie Le Roux instrumental and their scrum mostly dominant, the hosts fought back from 21-8 down to move within striking distance at the break. David Kriel firstly capitalised on a poor Edinburgh kick chase to dive over just after the half-hour mark, with Harold Vorster crossing in the left-hand corner soon afterwards after a wonderful chip and chase in transition by De Klerk, who was fresh out of the bin. However, the profligacy of Keagan Johannes and Kriel from the tee meant that Edinburgh's led by three, 21-18, at the end of a frenetic first half. Advertisement The Bulls, however, scored three tries in the first 11 minutes of the second period to pull away from the seemingly exhausted Scots in Pretoria. Canan Moodie's try, supplied by the imperious Le Roux and converted by Johannes, was followed quickly by a wonderful solo score by Johannes himself. The scrum-half-turned-10 added the extras once more for 32-21. A powerful Wilco Louw carry then opened a gap for Bulls skipper Ruan Nortje to dot down on 51 minutes, with Johannes having well and truly found his groove on conversion duty. In a flash, the Bulls led by 18 and Edinburgh's goose was all but cooked. The Scots found a second wind late in the third quarter, however, with Ewan Ashman crossing from close range and JF van Heerden receiving 10 minutes on the naughty step for the Bulls' repeated infringements in the build-up. On the hosts' restart, however, the otherwise excellent Magnus Bradbury dropped the ball cold, and Ross Thompson soon followed Van Heerden to the sin bin as he deliberately knocked on a Bulls pass near the line with Edinburgh's defence in shambles. The hosts took their easy three points through Johannes to extend their lead to 14, but Darcy Graham then initiated a wonderful team score by Edinburgh — eventually finished by Wes Goosen but left unconverted — to leave the scoreline at 42-33 with 17 minutes remaining. The visitors tried in vain to reduce the deficit further, the Bulls earning key turnovers on the ground to thwart glimmers of Scottish momentum and manage their way to victory. Jake White's second seeds will host either South African rivals the Sharks or Munster at Loftus next Saturday. Bulls: Willie le Roux, Canan Moodie, David Kriel, Harold Vorster, Sebastian De Klerk, Keagan Johannes, Embrose Papier, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Johan Grobbelaar, Wilco Louw, Cobus Wiese, J F Van Heerden, Marcell Coetzee, Ruan Nortje (CAPT), Cameron Hanekom Replacements: Akker Van der Merwe, Simphiwe Matanzima, Mornay Smith, Jannes Kirsten, Marco Van Staden, Zak Burger, Stedman Gans, Devon Williams Edinburgh: Wes Goosen, Darcy Graham, Matt Currie, James Lang, Harry Paterson, Ross Thompson, Ali Price, Pierre Schoeman, Ewan Ashman, D'arcy Rae, Marshall Sykes, Sam Skinner, Ben Jamie Ritchie, Hamish Watson, Magnus Bradbury (CAPT) Replacements: Paddy Harrison, Boan Venter, Javan Sebastian, Liam McConnell, Ben Muncaster, Conor McAlpine, Ben Healy, Mark Bennett Referee: Adam Jones (WRU)
