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

By Ian Cameron
James Ryan /PA

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.

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."

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

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.