Donal Óg Cusack taunted by Limerick fans pitchside after watching Treaty hammer Cork
Donal Óg Cusack was on the receiving end of jeers and jokes from Limerick fans after the Treaty's Munster Championship win over Cork.
The Rebels came into the game as favourites having impressed in the earlier rounds but Limerick came fit and firing and had a number of prominent performers in what wound up as a 13-point win.
Kyle Hayes received the man of the match award for his display from centre back, while up top Tom Morrissey had 0-05 from play, with Aaron Gillane chipping in with 1-07 primarily from dead balls. Aaron Gillane had 1-07 for Limerick in their Munster Hurling Championship Round 4 clash with Cork at the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick. Pic: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
Limerick now top the standings, level on points with Tipperary but ahead of the Premier County thanks to a score difference superior by 25 points.
They will contest a seventh-straight Munster final while Cork face up to a different reality as they head into their final round-robin game against xx needing a win to progress.
Cusack acknowledged Limerick were back to their very best and pondered whether history had seen a better hurling team. — The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) May 18, 2025
'The game is the game,' he told RTÉ. 'I don't think anybody expected that Limerick were going to beat Cork by this amount today, but from a Cork point of view the war is far from over.
'They'll just have to go back, take this beating and all the learnings.
'It has to be said…this Limerick team, have we ever seen a better team than them? What a machine they looked like today, so well engineered, resilient, strong, every part is working and up for the fight everywhere.'
But despite the former Cork goalkeeper's generous appraisal, a grouping of Limerick fans who had wandered across the pitch to get a closer vantage point couldn't resist goading him as they looked on towards the TV gantry.
As they jeered and joked at his expense, Cusack acknowledged them and fired a warning for the remainder of the campaign.
'As you can see, they're up for the fight, still behind us,' he said as the Limerick fans got involved. 'There's a long year yet there, folks!'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
38 minutes ago
- Irish Times
View from South Africa: Rugby is there to entertain, which is exactly what Jaden Hendrikse did against Munster
Tensions between South Africa and the Irish on the rugby front have been gradually rising over the past couple of years. Ireland saw off the Springboks during the pool stages of Rugby World Cup 2023 but the latter walked off with the ultimate spoils. Then there was the tense drawn series last year and the continuous seesawing between the Test sides at the top of the World Rugby rankings. Last Saturday in Durban, that rivalry intensified a few notches after the Sharks, with a host of World Cup-winning Boks in their vanguard, squeezed Munster out of the United Rugby Championship race courtesy of a dramatic penalty shootout in the quarter-finals. The home side won through on a tally of 6-4 , with the scores level-pegged 24-24, even after 20 minutes of extra-time. A couple of incidents during the decisive battle of the boots, however, sparked a media frenzy across the hemispheres like seldom before. Ironically it wasn't big Eben Etzebeth, known for occasionally grabbing an opponent by the chest or blowing a kiss, who caused the perfect storm. Instead, it was one of the smallest men in the Sharks camp, scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse, who, in the blink of an eye, or wink of an eye, invoked the ire of Munster and much of Ireland . READ MORE Having converted his second attempt at goal, Hendrikse dropped to the deck with what appeared to be cramp. Medical personnel arrived to treat him adjacent to where Munster outhalf Jack Crowley was supposed to have his second crack at goal in the shootout. TV footage later showed Hendrikse, while he was lying on the ground, appearing to wink at Crowley. The Sharks player was also accused of faking cramp to unsettle Crowley. Crowley succeeded with his kick before a heated exchange between him and a member of the Sharks management staff, André Barnard. It culminated in Crowley, shown on TV, appearing to tell Barnard where to go. According to a member of the Sharks medical crew, Hendrikse, who had played the full 100 minutes, suffered severe cramping in both his calves, which prevented him from putting one foot in front of the other. Hence the reason for him dropping down on the spot. Sharks' Jaden Hendrikse and Jack Crowley of Munster have words in Durban last Saturday. Photograph: Darren Stewart/Inpho/Steve Haag Sports He was still being treated for the cramps on Tuesday and unable to participate in practice sessions ahead of Saturday's URC semi-final against the Bulls. Incidentally, Munster skipper Tadhg Beirne also experienced cramping during extra-time of the game. According to experts, such cramping does not unlock easily and can continue for up to five minutes. The only solution is to try and stretch it out, which is why Barnard and the team physio asked permission from the assistant referee to attend to Hendrikse on the field. Crowley was understandably frustrated, insisting that Hendrikse be carried off, which led to the exchange of words with Barnard. Although relatively small, Hendrikse still weighs almost 90kg, so it would have been difficult for only two medics to carry him off, while it would have been even more disruptive to summon a cart. People say stuff to me in the game, but I don't moan about it — Siya Kolisi With so much at stake and everything on a knife edge, the situation spiralled out of context. Hendrikse's cheeky wink then escalated matters. People who know the 25-year-old Springbok halfback, however, will tell you that he is a bit of a jester and that nothing sinister should be read into his behaviour. Although a fierce competitor, who grew up playing football with his brother, Jordan, and other kids on the streets of King William's Town in the Eastern Cape, Hendrikse explained in a recent interview that playing rugby at the highest level is all about having the right mindset. 'And, to enjoy yourself out there,' he said. His late father told Jaden and Jordan to enjoy what they do and to always play with a smile on their faces. Playing with a smile on his dial is something that Hendrikse certainly does. Sometimes it can be misinterpreted as arrogance. Staunch traditionalists might battle to come to terms with it, but since turning professional 30 years ago rugby has increasingly become part of the entertainment business. Players subsequently have a responsibility to occasionally push the envelope. Siya Kolisi (left) of Sharks with Munster's Jean Kleyn and Sharks captain Eben Etzebeth after last Saturday's URC quarter-final in Durban. Photograph: Darren Stewart/Inpho/Steve Haag Sports Amusement, fun and even diversion have become part and parcel of the game, preventing it from becoming a bore, a drag. The game needs entertainers, like Jaden Hendrikse, even if they occasionally ruffle some feathers. Boks skipper and Sharks number eight Siya Kolisi alluded to this in a press conference on Tuesday. 'We stand with Jaden,' Kolisi said. 'There was niggle everywhere in the game and it's normal. These things happen, but now it's being made into a big thing. 'People can say what they like. There was banter between two players and that is all it was. That is who Jaden is. I get it. People say stuff to me in the game, but I don't moan about it; you just carry on. 'Some of the other players on the field on Saturday have also done stuff like that to opponents. We've seen it happen in the World Cup. 'It is rugby, it is entertainment. That is what people want and they will go to the next game because things like this happen. People are talking about Saturday's game; that's what you want. 'We all have our own ways of dealing with stuff on the field. We are not robots. We express ourselves. 'Sometimes you've got to give it and other times you've got to take it. It just happens like that . . . I mean, let's get over it.'
Irish Times
38 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Gordon D'Arcy: Leinster don't need to act like South Africa, but they can learn from their winning mentality
Muhammad Ali once said: 'I am the greatest. I said that even before I knew I was.' It's the kind of quote we don't usually associate with Northern Hemisphere rugby players or teams. However, in my experience in playing against the Southern Hemisphere nations, it is practically doctrine. Assuming a mantle of confidence is a prerequisite for players to walk out on the paddock. The Sharks won against a valiant Munster in last weekend's United Rugby Championship (URC) quarter-final , but the match will be remembered not just for the scoreboard. Jaden Hendrikse caused quite the sideshow by distracting Jack Crowley in the shootout with a convenient cramp just beside where the Munster outhalf was about to kick at goal. Whatever about having cramp or no cramp, the effort or lack of it to get out of an opponent's way, the home crowd booing a dead-ball kick and coaches roaming the pitch all aligned to the same purpose. It was textbook 'shithousery' and there was nothing accidental about it. It is celebrated and almost expected. The head coach made that clear post-match, that the ends justified the means. READ MORE That unapologetic, win-at-all-costs mentality is woven into the DNA of South African rugby along with the assumed confidence. And to be fair, it is effective. They believe they will win before the warm-up, before the anthem and before a pass is thrown. Everything they do, legal or questionable, is in service of that belief. Leinster , under South African defence coach Jacques Nienaber, will have tried to adopt some of that Springbok edge and mindset over the last two seasons, especially in defence. Suffocating the opposition and relentless in the scramble they may be, but the question is whether Leinster have the same raw ingredients, physically or mentally, to deliver the same results. Leinster are not South Africa and they don't need to be. What traditionally made them a special team was their controlled expression and ruthless execution. A culture of excellence that didn't require verbal dominance or dark arts, it was a quieter confidence. They didn't need to tell you they were good; they showed you. There is a legitimate question now about the focus on defence. It built a South African empire with back-to-back World Cup wins, but perhaps it comes at the expense of what made Leinster formidable in the first place. I think there is now a rough template on how to frustrate the way Leinster play The delicate balance between attack and defence feels out of whack. Adopting the mindset is fine, but mindset - like culture - has to fit the group to which it is applied. Right now, Leinster may be caught between two rugby identities - the old-school humility and the newly imported aggression. In that scenario, they could miss out on the best of both. They don't need to become snarling. They need to become certain . There's a difference. Certainty is what you saw in Jack Crowley. Booed, baited, distracted and he still slotted a kick in the shootout with composure that would make a poker player blush. Crowley countered noise with presence. Jack Crowley of Munster converts his kick during the shootout against Sharks. Photograph: Darren Stewart/Inpho/Steve Haag Sports Irish teams rarely have a squad-wide swagger like South African or Kiwi sides. They usually have one or two players who carry that energy, but it's not culturally widespread. That's okay. That's us. And when it works, it works beautifully. But conviction can't be conditional. It can't depend on being ahead or getting the bounce of the ball. It must be worn. Earned. Chosen. The next week and perhaps the week after will be a measure of that conviction. Again, Leinster are the last Irish team standing. They have the squad, the game plan and the coaching ticket. But they won their quarter-final unconvincingly, relying on the final quarter to pull away from an edgy Scarlets and with moments in the game that mirrored the way Northampton also made them struggle. It was Scarlets' ability to frustrate Leinster's attack at key junctures that kept them in the game until Leinster unloaded their bench. Eventually, the defence figures out any team. I think there is now a rough template on how to frustrate the way Leinster play and defend. There is also an understanding of how important Sam Prendergast is in his running of their attacking system. Leinster senior coach Jacques Nienaber with Sam Prendergast during squad training. Photograph: Tom Honan/Inpho Leinster feel burdened by the weight of success. Once they lost to Northampton, the holy grail became the URC. But even for the top teams in this competition, the reality is that nothing is certain. Scarlets played exactly how you would expect in knockout rugby and the same will be expected of Glasgow on Saturday. In such scenarios, where fear of failure is just around the corner, margins narrow and pressure builds. As I wrote last week, I think the challenge in Leinster is still within their control, but perhaps they need to rediscover some of their old identity, a bit of joie de vivre from playing rugby in both defence and attack. What we have seen over the last while is that over-reliance on defending to win hasn't worked. Once upon a time, the mantra wasn't about a growl or line speed in defence; it was about standards. Fullback Rob Kearney fielding everything under the sun, attacking when the opportunity offered itself, not when the system suggested it would. There was an expectation rather than a demand to clear rucks and standards on both sides of the ball. Leinster have been nearly-men for too long. But nearly isn't the metric. Trophies are. And no one gives them away – especially not to teams still trying to remember who they are.
Irish Daily Mirror
39 minutes ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
'How can they be hungrier than us? That's my question' Cork throw down gauntlet
Cork selector Wayne Sherlock says there's no way that Limerick should have greater desire than the Rebels in Saturday's Munster final. The holders are bidding for a record-extending seventh provincial title on the spin at a time when Munster has arguably never been as competitive and with a more demanding format too. Cork won the Munster title in the first year of the round robin format in 2018 but this is their first final since. "It's incredible,' said Sherlock of Limerick's recent record. 'If you were an outsider looking at a team going for seven-in-a-row, you'd be thinking it must be a cakewalk. But they've been winning most of the games by a point or two. 'Look, they're phenomenal. But going up to Limerick the next day, how can they be hungrier than us? That's my question. 'We have no All-Irelands, they have five. They're going for seven Munsters, a lot of our fellas have none. Realistically, how can they be hungrier than us? 'It's the question we have to ask ourselves and it can't be possible that they'll be hungrier than us. They're an excellent team and we're going up to play them on their home patch. 'They're probably going to go down as one of the greatest teams ever to play the game. So if you're not at it for this, you probably shouldn't go up there. But one thing we can guarantee the Cork fans is that we'll definitely be better than the last day." Cork manager Pat Ryan has hit out at some of the hype around the team, with one bookmaker paying out early on them winning the Munster and All-Ireland titles, while he said that 'Corkness' is 'the most stupid word I ever saw'. Sherlock shares those sentiments. "I would. It's kind of insulting. I think people want us to fail. How can you say Cork are going to win the All-Ireland just after winning a League final? We're around long enough not to fall for it. 'It's just being spoken about in such a way that you knew it was kind of insulting and they wanted us to fail. 'But was that the reason we played like that against Limerick, that we were thinking we were just going to beat them? It wasn't, 100%. 'We were hyped up before the Clare game and we put in an unbelievable performance in the first half. We were hyped up before the Tipp game and we put in a good performance. 'The noise was there and we still performed, just not for 70 minutes. But the outside noise is just cringey, to be honest.'
