Munster have a bit of history with this man.
We are only just over a week away for what will be a monumental weekend for Irish rugby.
Munster and Leinster are both in the semi-finals of the European Champions Cup.
They both face extremely difficult tasks if they wish to progress to the final in Murrayfield in May.
Leinster are facing Clermont Auvergne in Lyon on Sunday 23 and the referee to adjudicate this fixture will be Wales’ Nigel Owens.
Owens if probably the best referee in world rugby and he likes to keep the game as free-flowing as possible.
Therefore you can fully expect an entertaining game between these two attacking sides.
Munster on the other hand have received Romain Poite as their referee for their semi-final against Saracens.
Our #ChampionsCup semi-final referees!
▪️Munster v Saracens – Romain Poite
▪️Clermont v Leinster – Nigel Owens pic.twitter.com/4d5nEE2FqX— Investec Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) April 14, 2017
The French man has become a much more consistent referee in recent years but has a history with both Munster and other Irish sides which fans aren’t too quick to forget.
Poite was in charge of Munster’s 31-19 defeat to Leicester Tigers in Thomond Park during last season’s Champions Cup.
With the game tied at 6-6, Poite penalised James Cronin for a push on Mike FItzgerald, even though he himself was pushed by Dan Cole. In the same passage of play, Andrew Conway was obstructed when chasing a kick, yet Poite awarded a penalty to Leicester regardless.
The Tigers scored a try from this penalty and Anthony Foley was livid with that crucial moment in the game.
There are numerous other incidents involving Poite and Irish sides.
In 2015 he penalised Connacht for holding on in the dying moments of their playoff clash with Gloucester, even though a Gloucester player was clearly not rolling away.
The English side scored a try from the resulting penalty and ended up winning the match in extra-time, denying Connacht a place in the Champions Cup the following season.
With these incidents still fresh in the mind, there was some mixed reaction from Munster supporters to today’s news.
FFS Poite hates Munster…
— Diarmuid Higgins (@diarmuidhiggins) April 14, 2017
Not good for munster , have bad record with poite
— Gearóid Kerley (@GearoidKerley) April 14, 2017
Poite has been appointed ref for the #Munster & #Saracens game 😏
— @Aoifs123 (@Aoifs123) April 14, 2017
https://twitter.com/unlaoised/status/852837954498158592
Some others were a little more optimistic.
https://twitter.com/Rathbaner/status/852835736470470656
Regardless of the outcome, hopefully it won’t come down to a decision by the French man.
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