He wasn’t buying some of the outrage.
Leinster now fly solo with the Irish flag in the URC play-offs, as they brushed aside the Scarlets at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, while Munster were cruelly knocked out in a goal-kicking shoot-out against the Sharks.
The end of the latter was marred in controversy as designated kickers, Jordan Hendrikse and Jack Crowley, exchanged words after the former’s first kick, with the referee giving him a warning.
Then prior to Crowley’s second kick, Hendrikse went down with cramp and appeared to wink at Crowley while Sharks coaches and staff came onto the pitch, delaying the Munster man’s kick, much to his chagrin.
Leinster senior coach, Jacques Nienaber, who previously coached Munster, and coached Hendrikse with South Africa, gave his view on the sledging.
He gave off the impression that he thought the reaction from fans was exaggerated, explaining that there is a lot more sledging throughout the game than people realise, and he gave the infamous example of Peter O’Mahony chirping at Sam Cane in 2022.
He said: “It’s something that happens in the game from minute one to minute 80.
“There’s banter and trying to get under a guy’s skin and trying to physically impose yourself on him and try and rub his hair. I mean that happens for 80 minutes, so in this case it was for everyone to see because it’s not as secluded as what will be in a game. But it happens in a game.
“Think of Pete [O’Mahony], what did he tell Sam Cane? I mean, that banter flys. If you listen to just the referee mic and you take the commentators away, it’s crazy what you hear on that mic. They got stuck into each other. It’s just normal.”
Peter O’Mahony to Sam Cane: “You're just a shite Richie McCaw" pic.twitter.com/BwpyzgHjT4
— Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) October 3, 2024
