Should the 7-1 split be outlawed?
The now infamous 7-1 forward split on the bench hit the headlines once again recently when World Rugby announced they would not be outlawing the practice. The innovation, first used by South Africa and made more prominent by France in the recent Six Nations, is controversial in some quarters.
While not quite at culture war levels, the use of extra forwards has prompted a strong rebuke, as either dangerous, against the spirit of the game, or both, from plenty of those involved in the game.
One of those is Owen Doyle. A former international referee and current Irish Times columnist, he joins Nathan Johns to talk through World Rugby's latest law development. Should the 7-1 split be outlawed, or is it simply a case of clever innovation, leaving the rest of the world to catch up?
Produced by John Casey.
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Irish Daily Mirror
7 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Munster a victim of pure sh*thousery in Durban - writes One F in Foley
Munster didn't deserve to beat Sharks in normal time in Durban, nor did they show enough to win in extra-time. But they didn't deserve to be treated to extraordinary sh*thousery in the shoot-out, specifically as Jack Crowley lined up the fourth of his side's six kicks at Tullow Tank AKA Sean O'Brien delighted in telling anyone who would listen that the advent of 28 and more TV cameras at big matches had more or less done away with players attempting anything underhand. Sh*thousery (British slang, def: 'underhand conduct or gamesmanship, playing dirty, using questionable tactics to win, being a skilful opportunist') is a good word for the King's Park goings on and Jaden Hendrikse deserves ownership of it too. So while the Sharks' no9 didn't do anything illegal when, following kicking his penalty he collapsed to the turf and, claiming immobilising cramp, refused to budge, interfering with Crowley's preparation and taking of his basked in a variety of individuals arriving to stretch his calf, chatting to the referee presumably to point out how helpless he was, and taking time to apparently wink knowingly at Crowley - all which ever-so blatantly caught on camera - was not against Rugby it was Crowley kept his nerve, even if his wounded-duck kick somehow managed to reassert itself and get through posts but he was clearly raging at Hendrikse after the match had ended. You didn't have to be a lip-reader to recognise one phrase repeated over and over Saturday's referee Mike Adamson looked indecisive as the tension ramped up but, says a former World Cup, Six Nations, Rugby Championship, Heineken Cup and Celtic League referee and on who played the game at a very, very high standard too: "There is not a lot the referee can do but if you want to stay with the values of the game, that was something that should have been avoided - could the player have fallen a bit further away, even crawled a little bit out of the picture? "I think the authorities have to look at the attitude of the Sharks players and the management but that's an after-the-event occurrence and won't affect a result. "The player definitely had a cramp, you can see clearly that his leg is cramping in the TV footage so that is not a lie but the referee was never going to order the ambulance-buggy to come on. "The player hadn't broken his leg, he had cramp and if the buggy had been called on it would have added to the bullshit and drama. "Plus, and here is a thing we don't know, what was said between those two players earlier in the game, there was a lot going on."Munster, and long suffering Munster fans with memories of Neil Back and of Lille, have few options other than being pissed off."They can make a complaint in writing to the URC, and address it to the Referees Manager. "Can the Sharks player be cited? I don't know but I'd say 'no'. Have you ever heard of a player being cited for giving a bit of 'lip' to another guy. I've never seen it at the professional level, not for 'lip'."I'd have great sympathy with Jack Crowley and it is part of their being too much bullshit going on in the modern game, captains are getting involved too much, there are too many people calling for TMO reviews and making gestures demanding yellow cards for opposition players..."Meanwhile Leinster's South African coach Jacques Nienaber says it just an unfortunate by-product of the modern rugby world, noting generally of sh*thousery:"It's something that happens in the game from minute one to minute 80. There's banter and trying to get under a guy's skin and trying to physically impose yourself on him and try and rub his hair."I mean that happens for 80 minutes, so in this case it was for everyone to see because it's not as secluded as what will be in a game. But it happens in a game."Think of Pete (O'Mahony), what did he tell Sam Cane? I mean, that banter flys. If you listen to just the referee mic and you take the commentators away, it's crazy what you hear on that mic. They got stuck into each other. It's just normal."There were some other takeaways, Sharks looked better prepared for the shootout part of the game something, incidentally, Leinster have been giving consideration too in recent weeks.'It's something that's been living with a team since Europe when we went to the round 16, and it's the same format in the URC. "So it's not something that's not being discussed or planned or detailed. It's something that's been living with a team for over two months, definitely something you talk through."We practice both the kicks and the scenario. Everybody understands their role, who's going to kick, that obviously changed with the team against Zebre, didn't have the same players against Glasgow, didn't have the same players last week.'It is not a question of being a fan of the shoot-out or not, it exists."That's the format that's given to you. I don't know if it's a good or a bad thing. I think fans love it and I think from a spectator view it's brilliant. I enjoyed it. I loved it. But I don't want to be the team that does it.'The first one I saw was Munster against Toulouse three years ago in Europe. That was the first time I actually saw it and both times that I've witnessed it. I think it grabs your attention but I would probably say something different if I'm in that team.'And while not suggesting here that Munster were quite Mick McCarthy who having lost a shoot-out looked incredulously at a reporter who had asked had his side practiced penalties (they hadn't!).It was that the Sharks kickers seemed very assured, had better rhythm, looked like everyday kickers at agreed albeit with some 'inside' information: 'Yeah. So the guy, Bradley Davids, who kicked the last kick was my son's roommate at school. He was the kicker for the school. You might know it, because he's only a young guy, he's 22 coming through the ranks.'
RTÉ News
12 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Irish 'masters' of sledging - Jacques Nienaber plays down Sharks-Munster end-game
Jacques Nienaber scoffed at the suggestion that Irish players aren't as adept at sledging and rugby's dark arts as their South African counterparts when asked about Munster's exit from the URC at the hands of Sharks. Munster drew 24-24 with the Durban-based side in Saturday's quarter-final, but lost out 6-4 in the place-kicking shootout after extra time. The game had plenty of niggle and bite and some have suggested that Jaden Hendrikse (below) crossed the line when he went down with cramp following his second kick. The scrum-half fell to the ground and received attention after what was a gruelling 100 minutes of rugby. However, he was lying too close to Munster kicker Jack Crowley's line, according to the referee, and appeared to wink at the out-half when the medical staff arrived on the scene. Crowley, for his part, was happy to continue but had to wait almost two and a half minutes before landing the kick. The Ireland back was seen exchanging angry words with the Sharks medical staff after the kick. Former Springboks head coach Nienaber, under whom Hendrikse won most of the 20 international caps, was asked about the incident but said it was all part of the game. "No [I don't make much of it]," the Leinster senior coach, whose side face Glasgow Warriors in the semi-finals, told RTÉ Sport "If you listen to the referee's mic in a game without the commentary, you can just listen to what happens on the field, I mean there's a lot of that happening in the game. "It's probably because it's silent and quite and very individualised [during the shootout], it's more static and it's probably elevated. "The banter, the craic, or whatever you want to call it, trying to get into opposition heads is something that happens throughout the game. "You try to do it physically, you try to do it with your mouth, you try to do it at set-piece, a lot of things, rubbing guys' hair, faces in the ground, it happens throughout the 80 minutes." Asked if he found that Irish players were just as good at dishing it out, he laughed and remembered the furore over an incident during Ireland's win in the second Test against New Zealand in 2022 when Peter O'Mahony called Sam Cane "a s*** Richie McCaw". The 52-year-old said: "You are masters at it, the Irish, 'craic', isn't that the word you use? The Irish have never fell on their mouths, ever. "You ask if Irish players do it [as much]? Wasn't there a thing about Pete [O'Mahony] and Sam Cane? "So there's your answer." Leinster, who beat Scarlets 33-21 at the weekend, play Warriors at Aviva Stadium on Saturday (2.45pm, live on RTÉ) with the prize of a Croke Park Grand Final against Bulls or Sharks on the line. Nienaber said that practicing kicks, in the event of a tie after extra-time, is part of their routine during the knockout season. He said: "Not just for this week. It was the same for Europe in the knockout games. It's been something that's living within the team since the Six Nations." Glasgow impressed in a five-try win over Stormers last Friday and ran Leinster close when the sides met in a dead rubber URC fixture over two weeks ago. Having lost their Champions Cup tie 52-0 in April, the 13-5 defeat showed clear improvement and Nienaber is expecting another close clash against the defending champions. "It's completely different than the league stages," he said. "They are a team that relish this stage of the competition. "They are striking quite some form as you can see. "With the teams that get through to the semi-finals and finals of big competitions, there's not one big area that's a particular threat. "I don't think they had a lot of lineouts [against Stormers] but the ones they got, they capitalised on. "They had to launch attacks from other positions, that's the quality of Glasgow."
Irish Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Leinster's Leo Cullen on Sam Prendergast's performance against Scarlets
Leinster boss Leo Cullen was quick to jump to Sam Prendergast's defence following his side's URC quarter-final win over Scarlets. Ireland's Six Nations' out-half has been attracting lots of attention recently and was the subject of stinging criticism about his defence from former Ireland star Shane Horgan in the wake of the Champions Cup semi-final defeat to such as former England out-half Stuart Barnes, praised the Leinster star's ability to attack, to be exciting, and that there was a decade or more of brilliance coming down the the same time and most likely down to that performance against Northampton, Prendergast missed out on Lions squad selection and while Leinster won on Saturday, he was once again down for some flak - and it wasn't about his with his side 15-7 up and three metres from the Scarlets line on the verge of half-time, he fluffed a pass directing it backwards and behind his own defence and from where Scarlets raced down the field and scored. 15-7 became a tricky 15-14.'Sam is a young player and he had some unbelievable moments in the game today and that's not to hype somebody up to the point where we're unrealistic in our expectations," said Cullen."There were probably a couple of penalties there, a number of Scarlet's players offside, no clear release and one of the breakdowns, and then they go the length of the field and score, which is potentially a 14-point swing at half-time.'So you have a young player, just gone 22 recently, and we need to support these guys coming through the system in Leinster, and there's patience and being realistic about what young men can do.'And for us it's just we want to try and nurture talents and most of the guys come through the system here, a few guys add as well, like Jordie Barrett, a big influence, having the likes of RG Snyman coming off the bench. Rabah Slimani, the experience he has as well.'But for the most part it's guys that come through, Academy players that have progressed through the senior team."Still, Leinster had negotiated the hurdle, there was no disastrous Cullen: 'It's great to be still playing knockout rugby at this stage of the season."We've talked about this, it's week by week now. Glasgow and ourselves have had a good look at each other over the last number of weeks, so we know each other pretty well."We will just build a plan now for next week and recover well. We're into June rugby, the season goes on.'The big thing for us is support and genuine excitement. It shouldn't be a drudge, it should be like 'This is amazing, we are in a semi-final, we are getting ready, we are playing the current reigning champions."What we know is that they're kicking the ball quite a bit, even at the end, pinning us back in our end, and I think Glasgow will be doing something similar next week as well."Moreover Glasgow are facing a similar challenge to the one they encountered last season."Last year they won a home quarter-final and came away to Munster to win an away semi-final before they went to South Africa to win an away final.'If you're putting yourself in Glasgow's shoes, what are they like? They're relishing the opportunity to come here but we need to be relishing the opportunity of playing in front of our home fans.'I's great to be in a semi-final again but we take nothing for granted.'We have already lost a semi-final. Everyone was, supporters, staff, trying to look too far ahead so it was a real harsh lesson for us but learning from that and we are excited now.'We know it's going to be hard. We're up against the URC champions who came to Ireland last year to win their semi-final. Hopefully it'll be a great contest."Josh van der Flier is unlikely to make it back for next weekend, there is more likely going to be a precautionary rest not least as Scott Penny did so well when he came Conan and RG Snyman will be ice-packed and stitched up and ready to go, Tadhg Furlong is back training fully while Garry Ringrose may make the picture. Robbie Henshaw is not expected to play again this season but will be moving straight to the Lions in the aftermath. "It looked like it was Josh's hammy," said Cullen of van der Flier's injury, "that's the report, he felt a bit of tightness again, he was struggling to run it off so whether that's back-driven or neuro I don't know."Obviously Scott came in there so the six-two bench worked for us there as Scott was a natural no7 coming off the bench. Scott was good, brought good energy."You are always nervous during the warm up, 'hope one of these backs doesn't go down and cause some complications...".There was also a nod to the attendance, 12,789, which would seem quite low for a URC quarter-final albeit this was a Bank Holiday weekend."Hopefully we have support to come out again in the semi-final and I know we ask a lot of supporters over the course of the season but let's make it a special occasion, a semi-final, let's be better than we were in the last semi-final.'That's our job as coaches, making sure we have a good plan there this week but be genuinely excited by the challenge of it."
