Latest news with #Slimani
The 42
03-05-2025
- Sport
- The 42
'I don't understand the decision' - Leinster come agonisingly close
AS THE TMO review rolled on and on, hope must have faded among the Leinster players and their supporters. On first glance, it looked like Ross Byrne had dotted the ball down successfully in the left corner. It would have been enough to edge Leinster into another Champions Cup final. But as referee Pierre Brousset continued to review the incident, it became more and more muddy. The Frenchman eventually ruled that Northampton lock Alex Coles had illegally stripped the ball from Josh van der Flier on the ground within inches of the tryline. Penalty and a yellow card against Coles. Advertisement Which begged the question of whether it should have been a penalty try. If Coles hadn't ripped the ball away, surely van der Flier would have reached out to finish? But it wasn't to be for Leinster. 'I don't know, I don't know,' said Leinster prop Rabah Slimani after his side's 37-34 semi-final defeat. 'I don't understand the decision because if it's a penalty and a yellow card, I don't know why it's not a try, but that's the ref's decision. He has his opinion,n but it's hard.' Slimani wasn't pointing the finger of blame for Leinster's defeat at the refereeing. They still had one final chance after that decision and turned the ball over. Leinster were left dejected. Billy Stickland / INPHO Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO He believes Leinster needed to be stronger in defence on an evening when Northampton scored five tries. 'We lost some focus in defence but we never stopped the effort during the second half and we were very close at the end,' said Slimani. 'It's very hard for the team but that's the reality. 'Last year the semi-final against Northampton was very close and today too. I think it's normal that we were a little bit nervous. We didn't make a good start, they scored a lot of points. We lost by three points, that's very disappointing.' This was the first Champions Cup semi-final of 35-year-old Slimani's career. He has signed on to play with Leinster again next season but he remains hopeful that his first campaign will end with a trophy. Slimani doesn't believe that today's defeat adds to the pressure to win the URC. Related Reads 'We can take anyone on. They said Leinster by 30, but here we are' 'We get a little bit jittery' - Cullen regrets Leinster's 'horrific' defeat 'Not pressure, but now we have just one target,' he said. 'We are disappointed not to make the Champions Cup final but now the target is the URC. We have had a very good season in the URC, we need to continue that.'
Irish Times
03-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Leinster v Northampton: Mystery surrounds decision not to award late match-winning try
Mystery remains as to the specific reason why Pierre Brousset and his French officials, including TMO Tual Trainini, didn't award Ross Byrne a try with the clock on 79 minutes in the penultimate play of epic Champions Cup semi-final against Northampton. And while they may have been correct to do so, Leinster's French prop Rabah Slimani was not alone in believing there should have been a penalty try. When Josh van der Flier attempted to reach out and score he was tackled and had the ball ripped, illegally, from his hands by Northampton lock Alex Coles. The ball then squirted loose and deflected off the legs of a retreating Northampton player onto their try line by the corner flag, where Byrne stretched and touched down the ball. Technically, Byrne was on the ground and hadn't got to his feet, so legally was not entitled to play the ball. Broussett did not award a try, although it was unclear if that was the reason, or if the officials felt Byrne or van der Flier had knocked on. Confusion reigned as the officials were communicating in French and there were no ref links. READ MORE Broussett − who as the game progressed increasingly seemed to be struggling with the pressure of the occasion − did though award Leinster a penalty and sinbin Coles. Thus, given the Northampton lock was yellow carded for illegally preventing van der Flier from scoring, there therefore had to have been a case for a penalty try. 'I don't know, I don't know,' said Slimani when asked if he knew why the try was not given, before adding: 'I don't understand the decision because if it's a penalty and a yellow card, I don't know why it's not a try but that's the ref's decision. He has his opinion, but it's hard.' Leinster 34-37 Northampton Late drama as the TMO rules out a Leinster try 📺 Watch on 📱 Updates - — RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) Slimani has had issues with Broussett's scrummaging interpretations in the past and declined to comment about his compatriot and the scrums, but revealed: 'That's my first Champions Cup semi-final. It's disappointing. Last year I lost a Challenge Cup semi-final to Sharks like that. It's terrible because every guy did a good training week, they prepared well but we lost by just three points. I think that's worse.' Slimani also admitted: 'We lost some focus in defence but we never stopped the effort during the second-half and we were very close at the end. It's very hard for the team but that's the reality.' Asked if he felt there was a nervousness among the Leinster team, Slimani said: 'No, I didn't feel that. Last year the semi-final against Northampton was very close and today too. I think it's normal that we were a little bit nervous. We didn't make a good start, they scored a lot of points. We lost by three points, that's very disappointing.' Leinster now have the difficult task mentally of refocussing on the URC, albeit it is now their only remaining opportunity to win a first trophy in four seasons. 'The season is not finished and we have the opportunity to win something, the URC, this year,' said Slimani. 'It's a long time since Leinster won something and I think we need to stay focused on the URC now.' 'It is not pressure, but now we have just one target. We are disappointed not to make the Champions Cup final but now the target is the URC. We have had a very good season in the URC, we need to continue that.' Northampton Saints' Henry Pollock and Tommy Freeman celebrate after the game. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho Speaking of that protracted review between the officials, the Northampton Director of Rugby Phil Downson said: 'The thing that was going through my head was that if they score here, it feels cruel. I know sport's cruel and I know sport's unfair and that's the beauty of it but to be leading ... I think we led the whole game ... I don't know, and to have lost it in the last minute with a bobbled ball and a referee's decision? Was it a knock on? Did Colesy release? 'It's all very intricate and subjective, and the referee makes a decision there and if we'd lost that I would have been gutted for the players, because I know how hard they've worked, how much they've put into it. I see the lads at half-time blowing and I'm like, 'whoosh, that's a tough first 40 minutes.' 'That's what was going through my head, it's so close and we concede here that doesn't feel quite right, and what do I say then to try and build them back up? 'Then as soon as we get [the turnover] I think Juarno took the ball off them on their tap and go, I just said to the coaches, 'we're going to Cardiff', and (attack coach) Sam Vesty broke my glasses.'
The Irish Sun
03-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Leo Cullen insists he's still the man to lead Leinster despite ‘horrific' Champions Cup exit
LEO CULLEN has backed himself to continue leading Leinster after more European heartache. After three final defeats in a row, the province found a new way to fall short, Advertisement 2 Leinster head coach Leo Cullen insisted he's still the man to lead the Blues after the Champions Cup semi-final defeat to Northampton Saints 2 Leinster boss Cullen described the defeat to The Saints as 'horrific' The defeat - despite the high-profile additions of But Cullen - who extended his contract until the summer of 2027 last November - insisted he was the right man to lead the team forward. Cullen said: "Yeah, I think I am. Yeah. I believe that I am, yes. Advertisement read more on rugby "I think we've worked hard to try and improve the group year on year on year and I think the group is very strong right now. "That's not something that's just created last week. "We've lost three finals over the last three years, yeah, but I believe we've a stronger group now than we've had and that's the way I will continue to approach the day to day in terms of preparing in the short term, medium term, long term. "So, yes. And I'm very committed to that as well." Advertisement Most read in Rugby Union Slimani claimed Leinster should have been awarded a penalty try in the last minute when Alex Coles was yellow carded for not releasing as the ball spun out of Josh van der Flier's grasp before Ross Byrne grounded it. Slimani said: 'I don't understand the decision because if it's a penalty and a yellow card, I don't know why it's not a try." 'That time of year again' - Peter O'Mahony's captivating garden update includes hilarious tip for parents Cullen paid tribute to Northampton's performance but added: 'Quite often when you fall behind we get a little bit jittery and we're not quite accurate enough and we compound errors. 'On the flip side we do lots of good things. We get ourselves in lots of good positions and towards the end of the game we look the stronger team finishing the game. Advertisement 'But we're just not quite accurate enough and then there are a couple of calls that don't go our way and that unfortunately can be the game sometimes. 'In the dressing room it's a pretty sombre place as you can imagine. You set off at the start of the season and you know the final is in Cardiff. Everyone is imagining themselves there in the final. 'There is so, so much work goes into a team getting to a semi-final, when you lose it is pretty horrific and that is the feeling we are experiencing at the moment."
Irish Daily Mirror
03-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Leinster star mystified by vital try decision at end of Champions Cup semi-final
Leinster's Rabah Slimani admitted there was bafflement in the shocked home dressing-room that a late try that would have won the game for his team was disallowed. Referee Pierre Brousset, who is France international Slimani's compatriot, decided not to award the try to Leinster replacement Ross Byrne the score in the corner. The veteran prop couldn't see why Brousset made the decision, with one suggestion being that Byrne was pinged for playing the ball off his legs although that's not what the officials announced on their live microphones as they ruled out a try - and a penalty try - for the hosts. Instead, a penalty was awarded to Leinster and Northampton's Alex Coles was yellow carded. 'I don't know, I don't know," said Slimani. "I don't understand the decision because if it's a penalty and a yellow card, I don't know why it's not a try but that's the ref's decision. He has his opinion but it's hard. 'We lost some focus in defence but we never stopped the effort during the second-half and we were very close at the end. It's very hard for the team but that's the reality.' The suggestion that nerves played a part in Leinster's latest downfall at the business end of European competition was dismissed by Slimani, who has signed a deal to stay on next year. 'No, I could not feel that," he said. "Last year the semi-final against Northampton was very close and today too. I think it's normal that we were a little bit nervous. We didn't make a good start, they scored a lot of points. We lost by three points, that's very disappointing.' Leinster head coach Leo Cullen has spoken of the need for his players to bounce back after this devastating defeat and to win the URC, thus ending a three-year wait for silverware. 'The season is not finished and we have the opportunity to win something, the URC this year," stressed Slimani. "It's been a long time since Leinster won something and I think we need to stay focused on the URC now.'It's not pressure, but now we have just one target. We are disappointed not to make the Champions Cup final but now the target is the URC. We have had a very good season in the URC, we need to continue that.'That's my first Champions Cup semi-final. It's disappointing. Last year I lost a Challenge Cup semi-final to Sharks like that. It's terrible because every guy did a good training week, they prepared well but we lost by just three points. I think that's worse.'
New York Times
20-02-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
‘The Quiet Ones' Review: Getting Swindled in Copenhagen
The Danish heist thriller 'The Quiet Ones' centers on a big score that involves using garbage trucks to block the major roads in Copenhagen to buy the thieves enough time to raid a cash-handling firm. The many moving parts get the better of the filmmakers. The director, Frederik Louis Hviid, opens the movie with a display of self-defeating virtuosity: a robbery filmed in a single take entirely from the inside of an armored van. (That vantage point stops making sense once the drivers exit the vehicle, but Hviid doesn't seem like the kind of filmmaker to cut away from a showboating shot for the sake of narrative logic.) One year later, Slimani (Reda Kateb), the man responsible for the van robbery, recruits Kasper (Gustav Giese) to game out the break-in at the cash-handling firm. Kasper is a family man and a boxer, and his competitive streak inspires him to maximize the take. Slimani is a hardened criminal made less menacing by Kateb's faltering rhythms in English, the gang's lingua franca. The bulk of 'The Quiet Ones' is set in 2008, occasioning a lot of dubiously relevant references to the financial crisis. The heist takes up more than 20 minutes of screen time, but Hviid — who has to juggle the robbers at the firm, the garbage truck drivers, the police and a security guard (Amanda Collin) — makes a hash of the competing perspectives. The road-blocking gambit is barely shown, and Collin's character, fleshed out specifically for this moment, is forgotten for much of the sequence. The theft that inspired the movie has been called one of the biggest in Denmark's history. It deserved a sleeker film. The Quiet OnesNot rated. In Danish, English and Swedish, with subtitles. Running time: 1 hour 50 minutes. In theaters.
