Munster No. 8 Gavin Coombes has accused a Leinster player of grabbing his testicles during their loss at the Aviva Stadium. Munster captain Tadgh Beirne brought the allegation of foul play to referee Andrew Brace's attention late in the first half, after the back-rower claimed he had been grabbed in the groin area by an opponent.
Investigation launched after TMO review
After the game was stopped for an initial investigation of footage, TMO Colin Stanley could find no video evidence to back up the allegation at the time, but the incident will now be referred to the match citing commissioner. Munster head coach Clayton McMillan said he backs Coombes "100 per cent".
"It's one of those things that we leave in the hands of the powers that be," McMillan said of the allegation. "All I know is that I back our players 100 per cent that if they make an allegation like that, they wouldn't do it lightly, and that's not the sort of person Gavin is, so we'll see where that goes."
Leinster boss responds
Leinster boss Leo Cullen was also asked about the incident and replied: "I can't see anything there, from what I can see…And obviously, if that is the accusation, like as in...But I'm not seeing anything on first view. So I don't know. It looked like he'd changed his mind halfway through that accusation as well. So I don't know."
Asked if he was suggesting Coombes had withdrawn his complaint, Cullen replied: "Well, that's the way it sounded, once the scrum was packing down. But I don't know. Obviously, once that accusation is made, it becomes a serious matter for the citing commissioner. So my comment is not going to help in any way here. But from what I've seen, I can't see anything." Cullen admitted an accusation against one of his players was a headache he could do without: "Yeah, it's not ideal. So you'd want to be very clear if something's happened."
Leinster fight back to win
Leinster fought back from a 13-0 first-half deficit to beat Munster 24-18 at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin and seal their second win of the season. Munster opened up a healthy lead after the first half an hour through two penalties from fly-half Charlie O'Shea and a converted try from winger Shane Daly, who finished off a thrilling team move.
Leinster responded before half-time as scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park span a pass from the base of the scrum to right wing Tommy O'Brien, who went over to reduce the arrears to 13-5. The visitors came under heavy pressure after the restart and held on to their eight-point advantage until the 55th minute when flanker Ryan Baird crashed over from close range.
Leinster fly-half Joey Carbery converted to make it 13-12, and with Munster down to 14 men after centre Alex Nankivell was shown a yellow card, the home side were rewarded for more sustained pressure. Replacement fly-half Charlie Tector scampered over to put Leinster 17-13 ahead, and centre Jamie Osborne touched down in the corner after another long pass from Gibson-Park to extend their lead to 24-13 before Munster full-back Ben O'Connor scored his side's second try in the final minute.
