'Get off me you fat ****' - James Ryan's oldschool shoeing at the hands of Stephen Archer raises eyebrows

4:02pm, 24 April 2021

It speaks to the scrappy nature of Leinster and Munster’s inaugural Rainbow Cup clash in the RDS that maybe the most noteworthy moment was a skirmish off the back of an old school shoeing late in the second half.

British and Irish Lions hopeful James Ryan got caught on the wrong side of a ruck close to the Leinster try line and Munster prop Stephen Archer took action – deploying some 1990s style rucking technique to help his Ireland colleague on his way.

The second row could be heard making his objections known as the 120kg Archer stood on the Ryan family jewels, with the ref mic picking up “Get off me you fat ****” before he let out a roar of anguish.

Munster flanker Peter O’Mahony, famously averse to bad language – took exception to Ryan’s foul-mouthed utterance and let him know that he wouldn’t stand for it. A minor scuffle ensued.

It was the talk of social media in what was a pretty awful first half.

James Ryan to Stephen Archer – “you fat c*nt” ? #LEIvMUN
— Eoin Green (@The_GreenBean) April 24, 2021

Simon O’Keefe noted: “The sh**ty thing about Stephen Archer stamping on James Ryan’s nuts is not just that we don’t want one of Ireland’s best players getting injured but we also need him for breeding purposes.”

The shitty thing about Stephen Archer stamping on James Ryan's nuts is not just that we dont want one of Ireland's best players getting injured but we also need him for breeding purposes#LEIvMUN #RainbowCup
— Simon O'Keeffe (@thesimonokeeffe) April 24, 2021

Lost in the Stephen Archer yellow card, anyone else hear the *ahem* "language of the snooker hall" aftwr the break in play? #LEIvMUN
— Neil Treacy (@neil_treacy) April 24, 2021

That's brutal from Stephen Archer. Deserved yellow card. #LEIvMUN
— Ross Barnett (@rbarnett08) April 24, 2021

Does Archer think it’s 1997 & you’re still allowed ruck like that? Typical piss poor Pro 14 refereeing #LEIvMUN
— Sam Doggett (@sam_doggett) April 24, 2021

Brainless by Archer. Lucky that it wasn't the end to what's been a pretty subpar game on his part. #LEIvMUN
— Thomas Moroney (@tmoroney4697) April 24, 2021

Dirty, dirty action by Archer… Deserved far more than a yellow card. #LEIvMUN
— bbyrne99 (@bbyrne99) April 24, 2021

Some felt Ryan got what he deserved for not making a decent effort to roll away.

Unlucky for archer to get a yellow, james Ryan needs to make.much more of an effort to move. Even after ref plays advantage against him he makes no effort to move. #LEIvMUN
— Brendan Shields (@Stardansheill) April 24, 2021

Don’t think that’s a yellow. Games gone soft #LEIvMUN
— Marcus purcell (@Marcuspurcell4) April 24, 2021

Ryan, ballsy as ever, didn’t seem any the worse for the incident and happily cantered on, while Archer got to spend 10 minutes in the sin bin care of referee Chris Busby, where no doubt he had a chance to reflect on his actions.