Sunday Social: Champions celebrate and emotional goodbyes

Dylan Coetzee
Sunday Social 28 May

It is time for Planet Rugby’s Sunday Social, your quirky recap of the serious and not so serious talking points from the past week’s action.

What a moment. Munster were the deserved champions of the United Rugby Championship this season. Have a look at this moment as they sing, ‘Stand up and fight’ in the changing room with the trophy in the middle after beating the Stormers 19-14.

It was an emotional moment for captain Peter O’Mahony and veteran Keith Earls who have been great servants of the club. Look at how much the title means.

It all comes to an end for Earls, and he deservedly finishes his career being carried off the field by his teammates with the trophy in hand. It does not get any better for a legend of the game.

On the flip side, Steven Kitshoff played his final game for the Stormers in the defeat. The Cape Town crowd gave their captain a standing ovation in his last appearance before joining Ulster.

John Hodnett scored the key try in Munster’s triumph; it also didn’t take him long to drop an F-bomb. The reaction from his skipper is priceless.

Saracens celebrate like the champions they are after winning the Premiership title by beating Sale Sharks on Saturday. The energy and joy is overpowering as Jamie George brings the trophy into the changing room. Outstanding celebrations from an outstanding team.

Premiership champions Saracens produced this brilliant signing video for scrum-half Ivan van Zyl. An awkwardly fantastic masterpiece this is.

It’s another absolute gem of a signing video from Saracens, only this time it is prop Marco Riccioni teaching his teammates some Italian! Have to hand it to the team’s media admin, two hilarious videos in a week.

The captions should have been ‘tell me you are forward without telling me you are a forward’. Got to love it. A forward kicking looks so wrong, but there is this mysterious beauty about it. Bakkies Botha’s Dan Biggar impressive takes the cake!

Yet another powerful moment from the weekend as the great Aaron Smith’s time with the Highlanders comes to an end as he looks on at his team performing a Haka in his honour. Goosebumps stuff.

Is power like this even legal?? Gargantuan Wallabies prop Taniela Tupou shows off his immense strength in the gym. That bar is seriously bending. Would not want to find him running down your channel, that’s for sure.

READ MORE: Peter O’Mahony praises Munster’s champion mentality in URC Grand Final win