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Munster star accuses rival of spitting on him

Published 12:46 17 May 2026 BST

Updated 12:46 17 May 2026 BST

Colman Stanley
Munster star accuses rival of spitting on him

Homerugby

Nasty if it did happen.

Munster, as they usually do, found a way to get over the line at the 11th hour, beating the Sharks 24-17 at Thomond Park, to qualify for the URC knockout rounds and next season's Champions Cup.

It leaves Ulster and Connacht in a perilous position, with the latter currently qualifying for Europe next season.

However, if their Irish rivals win next week's Challenge Cup final, they will take their spot.

During Munster's game, hooker Diarmuid Barron accused a Sharks player of spitting on him.

But, as pointed out by Murray Kinsella, there was no clear footage for referee Andrea Piardi or the TMO.

It is yet to be seen whether a post-game citing commissioner will get involved.

Following the match, head coach Clayton McMillan described his feelings after the victory.

He said: “Probably relief more than anything. Not just the blokes out on the field but the 15,000 in the stands and lots in their homes.

“Just relief, big pressure coming into a game like this where it's pretty obvious what we needed to do. It was never going to be easy but I thought our guys acquitted themselves well tonight under those circumstances. Tough when we needed to be.

“Probably the first 40 minutes outside of the two yellows was probably as good as the first half that I reckon we produced this year. We did a lot of good things and probably unlucky not to score a few more points.

“But pleased for the players because I've been working hard to give ourselves an opportunity to get to finals rugby and that's been achieved.”