Irish rugby has a job on its hands to mend fences with referees from England. Last Saturday was the latest chapter in the ongoing saga, one that is doing no good for the Irish teams given the power dynamic of the relationship. This is not to suggest that there is any bias on the part of the RFU officials who are some of the best referees in the game but get plenty of grief online from Irish fans. However, there has been a succession of incidents that portray a loss of patience with the conduct of Irish players in recent years.

Source: Irish Independent January 19, 2026 20:00 UTC