Both Leinster and Munster face an anxious wait on the availability of their respective Lions’ captains and totems, Brian O'Driscoll and Paul O'Connell, according to the Irish Times' Gerry Thornley.
"The fallout for Munster was arguably the more unnerving. They appeared well set to press on and secure a bonus point win of their own when Johne Murphy crossed for their third try in the 63rd minute to put them 22-13 ahead. That they didn’t was due to a Dan Biggar penalty and a red card for Paul O’Connell which left them hanging on at the end and facing the possibility of their inspirational captain being suspended.
"Scarcely in the infancy of his comeback, and making just his second appearance for Munster since last January, O’Connell’s desperation to make up for lost time may or may not have contributed to him lashing out while being tugged from behind by Jonathan Thomas. In the process, he caught Thomas in the face with his forearm.
"O’Connell had his back turned to Thomas and it didn’t look like a red card at the time, but as ever slow-motion replays make instinctive offences look worse. The Lions captain had been on the pitch for 10 minutes but was then obliged to cut a familiarly frustrated figure for the final 10 minutes."
RSS feed
