Skipper sings praises of ref who sent him off

Munster skipper Paul O’Connell last night downplayed his history with Sunday’s match referee Romain Poite.

The pair clashed in recent seasons with the French official yellow-carding the captain in a 2010 Heineken Cup clash against Northampton Saints.

But O’Connell last night heaped praise on the whistleblower. The captain said: “He’s refereed us plenty of times with Ireland and plenty of times with Munster since and he’s an excellent referee. We wouldn’t have any problems with him at all. We had him in Llanelli away this year and in the Six Nations as well. He is very decisive and very sharp and once all referees make up their mind, that’s it I suppose. We’re well used to him now and he’s well used to us. He’s one of the top referees in the world and in recent years we’ve enjoyed working with him.”