WATCH: The Jordie Barrett incident which left Ireland star fuming and led to claims of Leinster ‘bias’
Mack Hansen tackling Jordie Barrett and the All Black's cleanout on Bundee Aki.
Jordie Barrett controversially escaped sanction in Saturday’s United Rugby Championship (URC) clash after a clearout left Bundee Aki clutching his head.
Many, including Mack Hansen, felt that the incident during Leinster’s game with Connacht should have been reviewed, but the television match official decided not to step in.
Hansen was incensed afterwards and launched a foul-mouthed tirade at the perceived injustices, with the Ireland star claiming that they are not getting the rub of the green from the officials.
‘It’s bull***t’
“You can’t possibly tell me yourselves sitting there, like checking the Gus McCarthy one, how much? How much did they check that, 10, 11 times? Bundee gets a direct hit to the head, it’s quite obvious, no call, doesn’t care,” he told reporters.
“Honestly, it’s bull***t and it’s starting to get really frustrating for us because people will say we are an inconsistent team, but when you are getting some of the calls we’re getting like, of course, you are going to be.”
Hansen had plenty of support online after the Barrett incident was not picked up by the TMO with Munster fan Jim Demps writing on X, formerly Twitter: “Got to say I get Mack Hansen’s frustration at Connacht not getting calls.
“Dirty little clean out here with the ref staring right at it and it doesn’t get picked up by the TMO despite the replay.”
Got to say I get Mack Hansens frustration at Connacht not getting calls. Link for the interview below. Dirty little clean out here with the ref staring right at it and it doesn’t get picked up by the TMO despite the replay. https://t.co/d5RXHS013J pic.twitter.com/XRqkA7Qeh8
— Jim Demps (@jim_demps) December 21, 2024
Some, including former England fly-half Andy Goode, believe that it has been overblown as he stated: “Rugby incident, not even sure why there’s so much drama about it.”
But the general consensus is that Leinster received a few fortunate calls in the tight 20-12 URC victory over Connacht on Saturday.
Master Of None Podcast wrote: “I don’t buy into conspiracy theories about refs helping Leinster win games but that clear out not being checked would make a man wonder.”
Another person added: “Honestly as a Munster supporter I back Mack here. There’s a noticeable pattern when Connacht play the other provinces about which way decisions go.
“I don’t know whether there’s some leftover unconscious bias from the days when irfu viewed Connacht as a dev team but it’s constant.”
Leinster bias?
Overthehillprop added his two cents worth by putting: “Mack’s gonna get fined for this but he has a very valid point about the Bundee Jordie incident.”
That elicited plenty of responses, including from those who believe that there is a clear bias towards Leinster.
“Fined for the truth, the bias towards leinster is shocking and it’s ruining rugby in Ireland. Yes they [are] competitive in Europe until they s*** their pants in finals,” one person wrote.
Another added: “Definitely agree that there is a natural bias against perceived weaker teams, we see it all the time in international rugby against T2 nations. Refs are almost afraid to ref an upset against T1 Nations and teams like Leinster.
“Inconsistent and over reffing are major problems.”
It wasn’t just that Aki-Barrett incident which caused consternation on social media as there were other moments where Connacht could have perhaps felt hard done by.
“You’d be furious with that scrum penalty if you’re Peter Wilkins,” journalist Neil Treacy wrote on X.
“When that happened up the other end of the pitch, and Leinster collapsed before the put-in, it was a reset. Zero consistency.”
