Munster came out the winners in the historic MacHale Park Interpro against Connacht in front of 27,580 people.
They got the 4-try bonus point in Castlebar as Thomas Ahern, Craig Casey, Jack Crowley and Diarmuid Barron crossed the line as Munster looked comfortable for the majority of teh game, depsite being down to 14 men for 55 minutes.
Centre Alex Nankivell was on the end of that red card decision as referee Craig Busby deemed his entry into a ruck to clear out Cian Prendergast high and with no attempted wrap. It wasn't a pretty collision and it was one that left Cian Prendergast in a pretty serious state on the ground. Fortunately Connacht were able to confirm that their captain was conscious and in the hospital before the match was finished.
Nonetheless it was still a very contentious decision and one that not everyone has agreed on. Some felt that there's always a degree of danger when entering a ruck and Nankivell couldn't do much when Prendergast was so low in the jackal position.
Speaking on RTÉ ahead of Leinster's match at the Sharks, Jamie Heaslip and Gordan D'Arcy gave their say on it. Both felt that while it was reckless from Nankivell, maybe a red was a bit harsh, with D'Arcy referencing how the game is refereed different in the Gallagher Premiership in England.
Heaslip then made a very sensible point when speaking about how that collision probably should've been sent for a bunker review had the review been available to Craig Busby and his team. The bunker review was trialled only for the Six Nations and wasn't brought into the club game. Heaslip felt that there needs to be more uniformity between competitions.
I wonder if it had been the same format as the Six Nations just gone by, would it have gone for a bunker review and I wonder if it would have been a red card. I think it's a yellow card, but obviously if it was red [after bunker] it would have only been 20 minutes then you can bring on another player.
I think the frustrations is probably is me talking about Six Nations and Dar is referring to what's going on in the Premiership versus in the URC. It's inconsistency, I think across it is probably the frustration. Whatever the same is in an international, I think we should try have that across the board. That's the frustration from my side.
Jamie Heaslip makes a lot of sense here, it's beginning to become difficult to keep up with all the laws in each format of rugby. With new laws coming in mid-season and some being trialled in certain tournaments, it must be a headache for the players to keep up with, let alone the fans.
In a sport that's so difficult to officiate, there's a definite need to streamline the laws to make the lives of refs, players and fans easier.
