'I reckon there was a red card and probably two yellow cards for them'

Glasgow captain Ryan Wilson has had his say following his latest fraught encounter with Munster in the PRO14 last Monday night. The Warriors were beaten 27-13 in a feisty fixture that saw the Warriors skipper yellow carded with 13 minutes remaining and just two points between the teams.    

Wilson, a RugbyPass Offload co-host, had spoken recently about the rivalry that had built up in recent years between the teams, explaining that he had become something of a hate figure to some players in the Munster dressing room. 

Whatever angst existed, it boiled over in the 67th minute at Scotstoun when foul play by Wilson sparked a melee that he believes should have resulted in action being taken against some Munster players.

Ryan Wilson and Dylan Hartley co-hosts the latest RugbyPass Offload

Ryan Wilson and Dylan Hartley co-hosts the latest RugbyPass Offload

Speaking in the company of Dylan Hartley on this week’s show, Wilson went into detail about what he felt unfolded on the night, outlining his disappointment that Munster were absolved of blame and regretting how behind closed doors games at Glasgow have seen the club dispense with the usual big screen its uses. 

If that was present he reckons referee Adam Jones might have spotted something on the replay that would have piqued his interest and led to him to investigate the melee further.  

Superb @Munsterrugby continued their winning start with a first win over @GlasgowWarriors at Scotstoun since 2016 🙌

A cracking BP win for Johann van Graan’s men in testing conditions 💪 #GuinnessPRO14 match highlights ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/VW5pv9aPEy

— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) November 23, 2020

“Just a moment of madness,” said Wilson, reflecting on how the bust-up was ignited. “It’s the way rugby is starting to go. It’s a kicking game, forwards and backwards, forwards and backwards, just chasing the ball up and down the pitch in the p***ing rain, windy as ever. Just got really bored and ended up… it wasn’t even that bad. Their nine dived on a loose ball and I just dropped and stuck the shoulder in as he was on the floor.

“What was to come after was rather interesting, a couple of fingers in the eyes, an open palm to the face from the Munster guys, which none of it got looked at. There should have been a couple of more yellows. Mine was the least of the worst. 

“When I did what I did, one of their props comes in and absolutely cheapshots our nine in the back who then falls to the floor. Their 12, he comes in and just does the same to me, a cheap shot in the back which then gets everyone going. 

“Honestly, my fingers are bruised from the number of shirts that everyone was grabbing at and pulling… all you could do was yank shirts. It was just a bit of pushing and shoving. After all that chat, they were probably fired up as well. They probably listened to the podcast and thought, let’s go out and get him because there was a few of them going for me.

“I did what I did, it all then started pushing and shoving. I have been open-palmed in the face and I go alright, they are getting a yellow and then I have had a hand to face. I’m not going to say what he was doing but he was pushing it towards my face at a funny angle and absolutely nothing got picked up on that. 

“That’s probably why we don’t have a big screen at Scotstoun. We bring this truck in with a screen. It’s like there are no fans, well we don’t need the big screen anymore. The number of times you see refs have a little look up and they see something being replayed on the big screen and they are like, hold on, let’s have a look at this. 

“Whereas it was probably against us Monday because after all that kicked off I reckon there was a red card and probably two yellow cards for them. It was around 67 minutes, with two points in the game – it was a big turning point and that was pretty frustrating, not having that big screen for the ref to look at. Then you are, hold on, what’s the TMO doing in there, is he picking these up?”  

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For a number of seasons these fixtures were must-see given the friction that existed https://t.co/WUVTkXexn5

— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 12, 2020