Sky and RTÉ turn down live coverage of Munster in Castres
Declan Kidney’s side are away to the French outfit on Friday, January 13th at 8.30pm (7.30pm Irish) but event organisers confirmed yesterday that the Pool One Round Five clash will not be covered by Sky Sports or RTÉ. Ulster’s Pool Four game against Biarritz on the same evening in Ravenhill is expected to be on Sky Sports. RTÉ will have coverage of Leinster’s Pool Five game against Glasgow Warriors on Saturday, January 14th at 5.15pm.
Meanwhile, Jonah Lomu may not have scored in last week’s Heineken Cup win over Calvisano, but that has not stopped him pulling in the crowds for Saturday’s return.
Cardiff have had to raise capacity at the Arms Park by 2,000 from the normal 10,500 and expect to get close to a sell-out as fans flock to see Lomu.
“We’ve not had to increase our capacity to the maximum permitted before,” said Blues chief executive Bob Norster.
“The interest in this game has been huge for weeks.”
Lomu, 30, came through his first competitive match for almost three years as the Blues took maximum points last weekend in Italy.
“It was great just to be out there playing a sport that I love. It’s a privilege to be out there especially after everything I’ve been through,” Lomu said afterwards.
Having recovered from a kidney transplant, Lomu is now targeting a return to the All Blacks squad in time for the 2007 World Cup.
That will almost certainly see the wing returning to playing rugby in New Zealand. But until the end of the northern hemisphere season Lomu is a Blues man, and fans will flock to see him play.
Welsh referee Nigel Owens has defended his decision to allow Gordon Ross to re-take the conversion which clinched victory for Leeds in the Heineken Cup on Sunday.
Owens ordered Ross to re-take the kick, which Ross had missed, after he heard Perpignan players shouting in their charge.
The decision caused Perpignan coach Philippe Boher to question the decision to allow Owens to take charge of the game, with Cardiff in the same Pool as the Catalans, and their most likely contenders for a first-place finish.
“I think Cardiff will be very happy from this decision made by a Welsh referee,” said Boher.
“If it were an Irish or Italian or Scottish referee, there would be no question, but in this case, it’s a Welsh referee and maybe it’s not in the rules, so we have some questions.”
But Owens has defended his decision, and has received the full backing of referees in both Wales and France.
“It’s something I’ve never experienced before,” said Owens yesterday.
“Everything was quiet inside the ground as Ross went to take the kick and then two or three of the Perpignan players started shouting out as they charged up off the line - one of them particularly loudly and for quite a few seconds.
“I had no hesitation in my decision to order a retake.
“It was pretty straightforward. It was ungentlemanly conduct and it’s covered in the IRB laws of the game.”
Law 9.3b stated that “the defending team must not shout during a kick at goal”, and says that the kick may be retaken should they do so.
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