Munster left it late, again. At half-time against Benetton at Musgrave Park, fans were fearing the worst with anxious and worried faces everywhere.
But what seemed a different team emerged after the break and a performance full of energy and effort dug out the most vital of victories. So, could these guys win the trophy again? Well, I wouldn’t put anything past them.
In truth, though, the match against Benetton was Munster’s cup final. The winning of it saved next year’s season. Dropping out of the Champions Cup would have been cataclysmic for them and awful for Irish rugby as a whole. The organisers, EPCR, will also have been relieved. Munster, with their wonderful supporters, have massive appeal, home or away.
Ever since 2014, when the newly formed EPCR upped sticks, leaving Dublin for Switzerland, they have become pretty anonymous. Hands up if you know who the CEO or chairman is?
When in Dublin, they had opportunities for plenty of water-cooler moments with World Rugby, who were just around the corner. No longer being able to drop in for informal chats seems quite a loss. If you find yourself on Boulevard de Grancy in Lausanne, do drop in. I’m sure they’ll be pleased to see you. I doubt they get many visitors.
Switzerland’s national rugby team is known as the White Flowers (Edelweiss), but the country is probably better known for yodelling competitions.
In days of yore, European rugby under the leadership of Derek McGrath had a clear identity. McGrath oversaw the format of home and away pool matches. It was all so much more appealing, more engaging, more thrilling, more understandable. Is it beyond the men in Lausanne to bring it back?
When Scotland’s Mike Adamson was appointed referee for Friday’s match, I was concerned. But, having criticised him before, I have no problem saying that, on this occasion, he was better.
Nonetheless, Benetton will have several gripes, including that Adamson himself didn’t check if there was an obstructive block, or pull, by John Hodnett on Benetton’s Nacho Brex prior to Jack Crowley scoring. It was a critical moment, worth seven points.
Any player so animatedly earnest in his appeal, as Brex was, often has a point and this try needed a complete examination. We often hear referees telling the opposition that an obstruction has been checked, and that the television match official (TMO) has okayed it. But, when a try is at stake, it’s a mystery to me why all referees do not insist on seeing the replays.
These “scoring” decisions, often altering results, need the head man’s input. It should be compulsory. Leaving an arguable try scoring decision totally in the hands of the TMO doesn’t stack up for me – he is not the referee.
In fairness to Benetton, Adamson should have taken ownership of the decision. Surely the visitors were entitled to due process, rather than a judgment in camera.
Later on, Adamson had good reason to admonish the otherwise excellent Tom Farrell, who threw some unnecessary verbal abuse at him. The referee told the player that a repeat would see him leave the field.
It’s a common modus operandi. England’s Dylan Hartley will forever wish Wayne Barnes had adopted it when he, correctly, red carded him, playing for Northampton against Leicester, in the 2013 English Premiership final.
Hartley’s outburst cost him dearly, the heaviest price imaginable: his already secured place on the Lions, the last time they visited Australia.
So, instead of weak, meaningless verbal warnings about the “next time”, referees should apply an immediate sanction, the minimum being a penalty. A card is also available, the appropriate colour depending on the level of abuse. Adamson was right to be distinctly unamused. He spoke forcibly to Farrell, then confirmed things to Tadhg Beirne.
The outcome was a penalty to Munster for a high tackle. But Farrell could still have been sanctioned and was fortunate to avoid “yellow”. The accompanying penalty could have been reversed in Munster’s favour, in consideration of the non-carded high tackle. Did that option even cross the ref’s mind? I’ve no idea, but the optics of Farrell getting off scot-free were not good.
Recently, I suggested that Hollie Davidson deserves a URC quarter-final. While she might well get one, her performances have earned something far bigger.
She will referee the European Challenge Cup final between Bath and Lyon on Friday. Davidson is the first Scot to handle a final since 1998 when Jim Fleming oversaw the then Heineken Cup decider. Heck, that’s a long time ago. It confirms Scotland’s consistent failure to develop established top-class elite referees.
But who is doing so? Ireland’s stellar period, for example, started to peter out around 2017. Before that, the Irish count was six Heineken Cup finals and about the same number of Challenge finals. There is a fault-line in many unions, it’s not just Scotland any more. Urgent attention is imperative.
Congratulations are also due to Georgia’s Nika Amashukeli, appointed to officiate at the Champions Cup final between Northampton Saints and Bordeaux-Bègles on Saturday. It’s bound to be an absolute cracker, both teams playing a dynamic, adventurous style.
The progress in recent times of Davidson and Amashukeli has seen them on a very fast track. Nonetheless, if anybody had suggested a few years ago that a Georgian man and a Scottish woman would referee the two European finals in 2025, they would have been scoffed at.
These two have actually gone and done it. It’s a terrific achievement, brilliant. May it all go well. That has always been the tricky bit.
