Reaction of Munster ‘fans' to Sharks win has been shameful

Extra.ie​

3 days ago

Three days on, and the stink from Munster's URC quarter-final loss to Sharks in Durban lingers in the air.
You sense the team has moved past it (the holidays are underway now and when you do not have to think about work, you tend not to) but the Munster 'supporters' incensed by what happened in the penalty shootout last Saturday are refusing to let it go.
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Once again, our old friend social media is playing a central role, amplifying the toxicity in the race to be most outraged and it is doing Munster, their supporters and Irish rugby as a whole, no favours.
Munster players look on during the kick-off. Pic: Shaun Roy/Sportsfile
There is no doubt the carry-on by the Sharks during the penalty shootout was not in keeping with what the more pompous guardians of the game like to call 'rugby values'.
There was trash-talking by Sharks players and backroom staff, to go with torrents of abuse from the home supporters.
Then there was the whole Jaden Hendrikse 'cramp' incident delaying Jack Crowley's second kick, followed by the second most analysed wink in rugby history (the 'Bloodgate' wink in 2009 still tops the charts).
Jaden Hendrikse. Pic: INPHO/Steve Haag Sports/Darren Stewart
None of that is a great surprise for anyone who has experienced South African rugby up close – verbal intimidation and antics are part of the rugby culture (ask any Lions tourist) and winning is all that matters.
It does not make it right, it is just the way it is.
The Munster players and management understand how it works and to their credit there has been no moaning or 'poor us' stuff in the aftermath – the game is gone, the season is over and bleating is never a good look.
Indeed, the likes of Crowley and Rory Scannell have come out of it extremely well.
Jaden Hendrikse and Jack Crowley. Pic: INPHO/Steve Haag Sports/Darren Stewart
Crowley, in particular, looks to have flourished since the disappointment of being overlooked for Sam Prendergast during the Six Nations.
He is now the face of Munster rugby, especially after the departures of Conor Murray and Peter O'Mahony and with Tadhg Beirne entering his mid-30s, and has become a forceful, commanding presence in the spirit of his most storied predecessor, Ronan O'Gara.
Watching him vent at the Sharks during the shootout last Saturday showed a player who was not prepared to roll over or back down when targeted and it called to mind images of O'Gara jabbing the finger at his attacker Duncan McRae during the 2001 Lions tour to Australia.
But the Munster organisation as a whole will not be impressed by how others have reacted to the antics of the Sharks and, specifically, their scrum-half Jaden Henderikse.
It has been shameful, embarrassing stuff.
The Sharks celebrate their victory. Pic: INPHO/Steve Haag Sports/Steve Haag
You cannot tar the whole Munster support base for the actions of a section of idiots – and they may not even all be Munster fans – but the extent of the abuse unleashed online since Saturday has crossed the line, even by the cesspit standards of modern social media.
The Rugby Pod is the most popular rugby podcast in the world, numbering listeners in their millions and they felt obliged to open yesterday's episode with the topic, given the levels of toxicity they had experienced.
The presenters Jim Hamilton and Andy Goode threw a spotlight on the online reaction they had seen from Munster 'fans' and how it had included racist abuse of Hendrikse as well as wishes for him to come to physical harm. They were at pains to point out that it did not reflect the organisation as a whole or their collective supporters but they did emphasise how shocked they were at the extent of the abuse.
Being labelled bad losers is one thing but for millions of listeners to hear the Munster brand being associated with racism is incredibly damaging.
The clowns that go online to peddle this muck, supposedly in solidarity with their team, are doing the Munster cause huge damage and exposing their own ignorance and hypocrisy in the process.
Many of these 'supporters' arrived into the game on the wave of rugby becoming trendy over the past two decades and do not know their Irish rugby history.
For example, you suspect the majority of these twitter heroes may not know about Munster's defeat of Australia at Musgrave Park in 1992.
That Wallabies side were the reigning world champions and were expected to steamroll the group of red-jerseyed amateurs thrown together at short notice in Cork.
The Munster team which beat Australia in 1992. Pic: INPHO/Billy Stickland
Instead Munster, superbly led by hooker Terry Kingston, employed every trick in the book, legal and otherwise, to throw the Aussies off their game and secure a historic victory via a late Jim Galvin drop goal.
The Australians were incensed afterwards – legendary coach Bob Dwyer unleashed a tirade against the home side who he labelled 'a disgrace' but the win was in the books, history had been made and the humbled world champions simply came across as sore losers.
Fast forward eight years to Munster's epic European Cup semi-final win over Toulouse. It was a sweltering day in Bordeaux and Declan Kidney's side employed repeated Hendrikse-style delaying tactics to allow them to regather their focus and kill Toulouse momentum. Munster won the day with French outrage making the victory all the sweeter.
Munster captain Paul O'Connell and team-mate Ronan O'Gara lift the Heineken Cup in 2008 after they tormented Toulouse in the final. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
It was a similar story eight years later against the same opposition in the European final as Munster tormented Toulouse at every opportunity on the way to their second title.
That was their last European success and the reality is, when Munster were at their best, they had a reputation for playing on the edge and doing what was needed for victory.
What the Sharks did was unsavoury and cynical and all the rest but, Munster have had their moments themselves over the years and there is a lot worse going on in the world than a few words and a wink in pursuit of victory.
Those Munster 'supporters' who have used this as a springboard for vicious online abuse have no excuse. They are truly pitiful.