Donal Lenihan

THERE was a justifiable sense of annoyance and frustration at the way a potentially serious injury to Northampton's replacement second row Christian Day was managed in Thomond Park last Friday night.

Day lay prostrate for five minutes, six yards from the touchline, while medics braced his neck, fearing a serious injury. The assistant referee, who was only yards away from him, failed to advise referee Romain Poite to stop play. That was ridiculous and brought no credit to a great Heineken Cup competition.
At one stage four medics, including Munster staff, surrounded the injured player in an effort to protect him from play. Thankfully all of the action was concentrated on the other side of the field at the time. Play should have been stopped. A similar scenario developed in the RDS two seasons ago when Peter Stringer also appeared to have sustained a neck injury but again the assistant referee failed to intervene.
Thankfully the injury to Day was not as serious as it first appeared. Full marks to the Munster supporters on the terrace on that side of the field for waiting for a prolonged period after the game to clap the injured player off the field when he was finally removed by stretcher.
It wasn't Mr Poite's only misjudgement on a particularly poor night for the referee and his assistants, Eric Soulan and Bernard Dalmaso. They were very poor for both teams. Poite will be in charge when Ireland open their Six Nations campaign against Italy in just over two weeks.
Declan Kidney will have to sedate O’Connell before that one!

*READ DONAL'S LENIHAN TAKE LONDON IRISH COACH TOBY BOOTH TO TASK IN HIS BRILLIANT 'INSIDE RUGBY' COLUMN IN WEDNESDAY'S IRISH EXAMINER