Ex-Irish ref boss ridicules illegal Leinster tactics as inexperienced official ‘lost’ Munster players and fans in ‘split-second’ moment
Leinster and Munster players after a game in 2025, and referee for December 28 game, Peter Martin.
Former Test referee Owen Doyle has suggested that one key moment saw inexperienced official Peter Martin lose control of Munster’s clash with Leinster on Saturday.
The two Irish giants met at Thomond Park at the weekend in a ferocious game which saw the visitors come out on top.
They claimed a 13-8 success for their fifth victory in the United Rugby Championship this season, but Munster fans were not happy with how the game was officiated.
Both Leinster and Munster unhappy
In fairness, both sides had their complaints, with Leinster aggrieved that they were not rewarded enough for their dominant scrum, but it was the hosts’ supporters who very much vented their frustration afterwards.
Ulsterman Martin, who is only 27 and making his way at the top level, was handed the responsibility in the biggest match of his career so far.
Doyle felt that he made a good start to the encounter but that one decision at the end of the half, which stopped a promising Munster attack, potentially changed all that.
“As half-time approached he was going well, scrums apart, but that is par for the course. He looked composed, going about his business quite nicely, and then Alex Nankivell came along,” he wrote in his Irish Times column.
“Leinster’s defence looked stretched for a rare moment, when Nankivell threw out an exquisite, space-creating, long pass. But the whistle interrupted things, a sharp blast from Martin informed us that the pass was judged to be forward. In that split-second, the last play of the first half, the referee lost the Munster players and the crowd.
“I don’t know if it was the referee who shot himself in the foot, or if one of his assistants pulled the trigger for him, but the end result was a poor decision.”
Doyle reckoned that played a part in the rest of the game, with the former IRFU ref boss stating: “A referee cannot allow a mistake to prey on his mind, clouding both confidence and concentration.”
Leinster’s tactics
Everything was contested in the final 40 minutes with both sides pushing the boundaries, but the ex-referee claimed that it was Leinster who got away with more at the contact area.
“Inevitably, the ferocity ratcheted up in the second half, and the degree of difficulty for Martin followed suit. The breakdown was fiercely contested, and in trying to keep things moving, his attempts to be preventive seemed to come after the offence, rather than before,” Doyle wrote.
“Munster weren’t saints, but Leinster hands were clearly visible delaying quick ball. The visitors also not only entered the breakdown at the side, they also came in at the back. It’s highly unusual to see rear entry, but it did make an unexpected appearance.”
