BERNARD JACKMAN HAS said he was “pretty shocked” at the debate around referee Frank Murphy’s performance during Munster’s 16-15 win over Leinster in the URC semi-final on Saturday.
Jackman made his comments during Rugby Weekly Extra, a podcast for subscribers to The 42.
Murphy, 39, is originally from Cork, and played for Munster early in his career before moving to Leicester Tigers and then Connacht.
Some Leinster fans were critical of some of his decisions in the game.
With the score 3-3, Ryan Baird ran the ball home from deep. However, the try was chalked off after Murphy deemed the ball to have been knocked forward by Tommy O’Brien in the preceding contest with Peter O’Mahony.
Jackman, the former Leinster and Ireland hooker, said he thought the official did not influence the outcome of the match.
“I didn’t see any massive issue with the refereeing. That’s why I was shocked as I came out of the stadium and that’s what most people were saying to me,” said Jackman.
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“I thought, obviously, it was a very fast, physical game, Murray (Kinsella) tweeted about the high ball-in-play time . . . Probably a lot of Frank Murphy and his officials to adjudicate on but to be honest it was one of the rare I games I walked away from not feeling the referee had a massive role in the result, and then I was pretty shocked to see all the social media debate.
“I think maybe it was just the narrative that was in some people’s heads before the game, around whether he should do it or not, but to be honest I thought he did a great job of letting that game flow.”
Also on the podcast, Jackman and Murray Kinsella delved into the thrilling semi-final win for Munster in Dublin, with lots of chat about Jack Crowley’s winning drop-goal, how Munster’s ambition was rewarded, and where it got away from Leinster.
The lads also discussed how Connacht missed a big chance to reach the final as they were edged out by a dangerous Stormers side in South Africa.
Also on the agenda were Munster’s challenge in the final, and a look ahead to this weekend’s intriguing Champions Cup final between Leinster and La Rochelle, who have beaten Leo Cullen’s side for the last two years in a row.
The pod also focussed on the Ireland women’s 7s team’s achievement of qualifying for the Olympics in Paris next year.
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