Holloway on McGregor: 'It's all fun and games until the guy gets salty'

@Etherman: great point, Ross is top class, Munster were unlucky with decisions but Ben White House thinks the game is about him and not the two teams playing.

A lot of 50/50 decisions went against Munster and there absolutely wasnt a knock-on before Earl’s break, which caused a 14pt swing (decision resulted in 27-12 instead of 20-19). However, it wasn’t 100% in favour of Leinster. James Cronin cheated in 3/4 of the scrums that eventually led to a try. One he collapsed and 2 of the others he drove completely to the side to the point that his body was 90° sideways compared to every other player…. As I said though, Munster definitely got the worst of his decisions, but he’s so bad it effects everyone.

@Jon Walters: if you go past archer for the reason you lost that game your just fooling yourself.

@Etherman:Like that Shitehouse ,thats good so it is.

@Chris Mc: Goodman ya

@Rudiger McMonihan: he was offside

@Martin Brennan: Sounds like a load of sour grapes to me. Bad decisions go both ways and they did tonight…We were a better team tonight and to start cutting at some kind of bias on the refs part is well beneath 99% of Munster fans I know…

@Martin Brennan: He allowed Munster’s maul to stand like a statue for 30 seconds in the run up to the first try, and seemed to allow Cronin about 45 degrees of leeway for his driving angle at the scrum.

The questionable calls went both ways.

@Ricky Spanish: Best you have??

@Ricky Spanish: he is right tho. And I’m Connacht

@Rugby Junkie: in fairness there’s nobody better than Munster fans for moaning about the referee. Considering some of the poorest ones in the league are from your province it says a lot.

@Ricky Spanish: I think Stevie Wonder could have done a better job tonight!!

As for Munster refs, that’s another conversation for another night!!

@Jim Demps: I get that Munster fans want to take the positives and in fairness you guys fronted up. But considering the amount of possession you had and the fact that Leinster were coasting at the end should be worrying.
In the flip side Leinster need to look at why they allowed a team to dominate possession to such an extent.

@Ricky Spanish: OP is right to look at the positives. Crying about the referee is entirely justifiable today, but gets us nowhere. 14 point swing on that “intentional knock on” at the start of the second half was a huge blow. Think Archers silly penalty at the end was the real killer though, 1 score game would have been manageable but that killed us.

@No: How was it a 14 point swing? Whether it was intentional or not is debateable but it was a knock on. Jesus you people used to be able to lose gracefully.

@Jim Demps: the Munster scrum was dominant but was there not more than a hint of not driving straight..on two of the scrums in the lead up to the Munster 2nd Half try the prop went straight in at a crazy angle. It reminded me of a tactic wales used and got away with against Ireland a few years ago… fool the ref

@Ricky Spanish: I agree…the deliberate bit is debatable but it was a knock on!!

@Jim Demps: Had Lowe for man of the match at 10/1 nearly got sick when Byrne got it

@Sham C: that’s unlucky. I couldn’t believe Byrne got it over him. He kicked well but I would have put Ruddock, Lowe and Mathewson ahead of him.

@BMJF: it’s hard to drive straight when bent and porter are going either back or down at a rate of knots.

@Jim Demps: and with a bit of luck that day will be next week. Leinster probably gave you a taste of what Exeter will bring in defence…. not sure that they will give Munster 70+% of the ball though so Munster will need to be more accurate to win.

Re: Lowe…. it will be hard to leave him out of an Ireland team in 2020 even if he is prone to the odd crazy offload. He has even improved his defensive efforts and there is nobody quite like him playing in Ireland at the moment.

@Ricky Spanish: looking at the replay I think the ball hit his head in the tackle, not a knock on

@Jim Demps: jim really? Marler would have embarrassed at those angles

@Jim Demps: Yeah he wasn’t involved much but those two tries we quality. I’m a Leinster man but I was very impressed with Munster tonight I must say and the referee was a joke even a blind man could see that.

@Sham C: there seems to be plenty of blind men on here tonight sham. Congrats with the win but unlucky with the bet

@Chris Mc: how did sob play at 8? I told u this was coming mate

@Ricky Spanish: cos it wasn’t a fuc&king knock on…

@Garrett Kelly: he didn’t knock on. Ffs. Watch it again.

@Garrett Kelly: goggin didn’t touch the ball, watch it again. Totally legal try

@Jim Demps: I was impressed by all the Lh‘s. Cronin destroyed porter in the scrum but I think jack held his own in the scrum and his work rate is second to none. Em tbh I think br’s evened each other out and none for me took the game by the scruff of the neck but when josh came on he was a standout, he’s incredible.

Tbh as an Irish rugby fan i am very happy. Not only did the usual guys play well but the likes of Cronin, Rhys, Goggin, Arnold, Rory and Byrne were very impressive and I would love these guys along with Sob(Connacht),beahlam and Tom Farrell get a look in in November.

@Ian Verdon: I think McGrath is under severe pressure for his shirt come November. If schmidt is honest about picking on form then he should be looking at one of the two munster lads. Killer was dominant in the scrum and carried unbelievably well while cronin embarrassed porter.

@Jim Demps: I think all 3 played great especially Cronin, always been a big fan of his. Jack got a big to, tackled very well and his ruck stats along with toner are as high as ever. I for one think he answered his doubters re his own from. Plus I think he played v well down under this summer. But Cronin is playing the rugby of his career and for me should at least get a start or two in November but having said that my number 1 is Cian and 17 is jack. Again incredible to have have the competition and also Buckley cannot be ignored imo he’s having another great season.

@Jim Demps: Considering it was McGrath’s first game of the season, I thought he was outstanding. He was killing Archer in the scrum all first-half but it wasn’t always rewarded because Kilcoyne was also killing Bent on the other side and the scrum wheeled as a result.

@Ian Verdon: it’s only competition if schmidt gives the others a chance. Otherwise it’s just a closed shop.

@Jim Demps: ah Jim, McGrath and Healy are still irelands 2 loose heads. Killer’s discipline let’s him down too much and is just not as good as the 2 Leinster lads. Good player but just not as good as the other 2

@Jim Demps: Ah come on Jim, not back to the McGrath stuff again! You made the same ‘McGrath was poor, shouldn’t be playing for Ireland’ comment after nearly every match he played in last year. Including many matches where he played well. It’s not a big conspiracy that coaches keep picking him. He did well today coming back from an injury.

@Jim Demps: That’s fair but going on this performance tonight I don’t think Jack merits to be dropped I thought for his first game back since June and playing in a high intensity match such as tonight he was very impressive. Fair enough if he came back and was all over the shop but that wasn’t the case one bit tonight he’s Mr reliable and his work rate and ruck stats are why he’s he should be Ireland’s 17 in Ireland’s big games. Now that’s just my opinion and what values one persons opinion over another persons…nothing but I was delighted with his performances and James’s.

@Ian Verdon: yeah that’s fair enough. What did you think of the penalty try? There’s two issues as I see it. 1. Was it a tackle? There was contact but it’s not like he dragged him to the ground. In fact lowe kept his feet and 2. Would lowe have scored? It was a bad pass and i don’t think he would have held it. He may have but its certainly debatable. I’d have had less of an issue with whitehouse if he’d been as quick to card porter under the posts. Porter soaked up another 4 minutes of time with his inability to scrimmage at the end when he should have been off the park.

@Jim Demps: If going off the rule books I believe the right decision was made, which was made by the tmo not Whitehouse. I do think that particular rule has too much leeway in terms of how individual refs or reffing teams judge it but that can be said for a lot of the rules. As I said above I am not willing to get into a debate re the reffing decisions as even tho I try to be as neutral as possible but I would be slightly biased as would you Jim which is understandable. Would love to hear a Connacht’s fan or Ulsters fan opinion.

@Jim Demps: Porter should’ve been carded a 100%. His scrummaging has been a little worrying at the start of this season. His TO game is incredible, he sends people back in the tackle and is a monstrous carrier but his scrummaging does need to be addressed otherwise Joe would be looking at other options.

@Jim Demps: porter didn’t ‘refuse’ to scrum… his opposite number was scrummaging illegally, making no attempt to drive straight and take on Porter… how he got away with the angle he drove in at was bizarre

@Ian Verdon: it’s not possible for the tighthead to scrimmage if the ref allows the loosehead to drive in at a 45 degree angle.

@Ian Verdon: it’s hard to hide behind the rule books when he did the exact opposite in the second half. Even luke Fitzgerald who’s as one eyed as they come said that the referee was atrocious.

@Chris Mc: Yeah there was some questionable angles but porters scrummaging has been a little week in his other performances this season but I am too worried its more a technical thing which is v fixable otherwise he’s an exceptional talent and will accumulate a considerable amount of international caps.

@Jim Demps: I have said what I have to say re Ben’s performance. I understand why you feel hard done by but I am not going continue this to and fro re the refs performance, I have already said it was abysmal. At the the end of the day the result is the result but if I was a munster fan I would’ve been over the moon with that away performance and with no more injuries heading into next week you should feel confident enough. Now Exeter are in fantastic form but I’ll be cheering ye on all the way.

@Ian Verdon: era ya you’re right. I said to you earlier in the week that I hoped he wouldn’t have an impact as a ref and yet here we are. I’m not in the least bit annoyed at Munsters performance. Thought they were very good and dominant up front. Just need to get a little bit sharper and that will come. I’m annoyed that the same ref has affected the results in two out of three of our losses this season.

@Martin Quinn: Genuine question are you strictly nocturnal? Every time you comment on a thread it’s after midnight… after watching the match again and focusing on all the main points people for both sides have brought up it has just cemented my opinion on whitehouse. Yes Leinster got some very iffy calls for them but Cronin’s scrummaging was illegal, now not saying he wouldn’t of dominated porter if he did scrummage legally. Cronin’s a great scrummager. The scrum is a free for all tho when it comes to the refs interpretations. None are singing off the same hymn sheet and it is causing havoc. Be interesting to compare and contrast the standard in referring in the European matches.

@Ian Verdon: Yea he’s some man for the late night comments. I live in the US and he often comments as I’m heading to bed which could be 3 or 4am Irish time. Maybe he works late night shifts or something

@Eddie Hekenui: Maybe he’s Batman!!! Ah yeah I like Martin his wording always makes me chuckle but he certainly knows his stuff.

@Jim Demps: Jim, Cronin was boring in all the time thats why porter was all at sea. The issue I have is the ref failed to ping Cronin. Next week the far more experienced Jerome Garces will ref the Munster game and any of that messing in the scrum will be penalised.

Agree the Munster performance overall was good but the scrummaging antics were way over the top. All the skullduggery was in evidence if you want to look for it. POM’s binding / non binding in the scrum that led to Standers try. Cronin (boring) and POM (bind / non bind) in the first of the three under the posts. The second was a fair penalty as Porter was binding and pulling on the arm. Third scrum, Cronin again.
All of these calls could go either way depending on the ref. Dont think Garces will be fooled as easy as Whitehouse was.

@Dave Barry: Rather than complain about the “Leinster biased” fans you could have said well done Leinster on your win.

@Camroc: Please explain, in detail if you don’t mind, how I am wrong? Give specific examples were I am being unfair.

@Gary: That wasn’t a win Gary. You were gifted that “victory” plain and simple and I can’t see how any reasonable person can say differently.

@Dave Barry: Sorry but the scoreline suggests it was a win. Jesus you people are a dangerous mixture of biased and delusional. Get a grip your team lost! It happens stop trying to blame everybody else.

@Ricky Spanish: If you were to go back and look at all my comments on here, you would see that I am not one to toss blame. However this time, it is totally justifiable.

@Dave Barry: archer and his brain fart was the reason you lost any chance of wining the game but it’s easier to blame the ref or anyone else rather than look at your own short comings

@Chris Mc: I have you muted on my phone but since I can’t mute you on my PC I’ll respond. Archer’s penalty at the end of the game, when all the damage from Whitehouse and co. had been done did not lose Munster this game. The Earls yellow that wasn’t really a yellow did. The countless scrums that were clearly Munster penalties but were called as resets or free kicks did. The countless times Munster had clear hands on the ball at ruck time did. The Earls try that was call as a knock on in the tackle did. The point in the game when Whitehouse gave three penalties against Leinster on their 5 meter line and didn’t give a penalty try and a yellow card did. Shall I go on?

@Dave Barry: The impact of that yellow card was nullified by Munster’s two-try response in the first half, so unpleasant as it was from Munster’s viewpoint, it didn’t't define the game.

@Martin Brennan: hee hee. “Lob sided”……. it’s “lop”!! Small point but important I feel.
Even as a Leinster fan I felt we got every 50/50 decision going.
But still a great performance. Quietly confident about the first European game. Wasps were well beaten tonight. Danny Cips ran them ragged.

@Dave Barry: I didn’t say anything about “wrong” or “unfair”. I merely pointed out your obvious bias.

Toughen up princess.

@Martin Brennan: You mean all those Leinster developed players? If Leinster don’t keep them, Ireland don’t win Grand Slams. Speaking of “the playing field”, how many foreign players are in the Munster set up? The field is indeed seriously lob sided.

@Kendo90:
Yes, is he Liam’s brother.
What a bromance he seemed to have for him

@Mark Smith: Just shows you know f€uk all about rugby. If Leinster and Ireland’s first choice 15 is bad, what must the rest of the countries 15s be like.

@Gary:
Oh touchy are we !!!

Well I am glad I have met you and you can tell me all about rugby that you know, high appears to be everything.

Think one calls it a ‘ know All’
Are you one of those

@Ricky Spanish: 2nd MOTM performance in two games. I reckon an Ireland debut against Italy is just around the corner.

@Conor Alexander Lynott: And justifiably so. For all the chatter about the other lad, Ross calmly went about his business.

@Ricky Spanish: carbery has always been the better attacker but byrne had always been the better all round 10

@Darren Byrne: Carbery was good in fairness. Feel sorry for him being on the loosing side. But ultimately he made his bed now he has to live with the consequences of that decision.

@Ricky Spanish: you’re a gas man….and by gas I mean a complete numpty.

@Al Madzer: i would have called him a dick head but hey that’s my drunken observation

@Munster4ever: Yeah drunken insults are great. I’ve a few choice names for you but I have enough dignity not to lower to your level.

@Conor Alexander Lynott: and they got away with same thing a little earlier too

@Conor Alexander Lynott: Are you for real? Taking about a penalty that came so late in the game when Munster were screwed out of so much clear and obvious calls. The officiating lost Munster this game, end of story.

@Dave Barry: Lowe and Byrne probably had more to do with it tbf. The constant whinging does you no favours at all.

@Cian Nolan: It’s not whinging if it’s justified pal.

@Dave Barry: For that to be ostensibly true, the major Leinster scores, the tries, must been all been due to direct referee intervention. One of the tries came from quick thinking to rip the ball off Beirne and a brilliant skip pass. Nothing to do with a ref decision. To forestall objections, perceived lack of ref intervention doesn’t matter, only what ref decisions were actually made. You’re really covering the munster fans in glory with the sore loser behaviour. Insult me more if you want, but if I were you, I’d worry more about Exeter next week. Much bigger fish to fry.

The “major Leinster scores” came from direct referee intervention and lack there of yes, look back on the game and you’ll see that to be true.

@Frank Reilly: Ya cheers bud, make it snappy.

@Dave Barry: I’ve looked at it enough, thanks, and conclusion’s still the same. I’d advise you to look at it again yourself, kid

@Conor Alexander Lynott: Clearly not kid, talk to ya in a while.

@Dave Barry: Good luck with getting the number to talk.

@Dave Barry: yeah, the penalty try was a joke. Lowe was not catching that ball. Fair enough Earl’s getting a yellow though

@EK: what?? He was eaten without salt.