'Seeing a teammate getting the abuse I'm seeing on Twitter is ridiculous' - Connacht prop defends his captain
Connacht prop Paddy McAllister has jumped to the defence of his captain - Paul Boyle - who has been criticised online following his side's defeat to the Bristol Bears at the weekend.
Connacht fell to a 27-18 loss in Heineken Champions Cup in Galway, with their former boss Pat Lam leaving his old stomping ground with a bonus-point victory.
Connacht turned down a shot at a losing bonus point when captain Paul Boyle opted not to take a late kickable penalty. The decision not to take the points were heavily criticised online, with the buck ultimately resting with the 23-year-old.
Veteran prop McAllister had a few words for those directing criticism at the young player, who is at the beginning of his senior captaincy journey.
"Seeing a teammate getting some of the abuse I'm seeing on Twitter is ridiculous, Paul Boyle is a young man who is playing out of his skin atm for his club.
"Doing a great job as a leader in the squad and has the backing from everyone. Those keyboard warriors can uppercut themselves"
The decision is likely but a blip in the career of the highly-rated back rower, who has received rave reviews over recent seasons.
Boyle has had a rapid rise through the Connacht ranks, having made his debut for the Westerners as a Year 1 Academy player against Munster in January 2018. The 6'2, 106kg No.8 was duly rewarded with his first professional contract midway through the 2018/19 season and has gone on to play over 45 times for his province.
Boyle first captained Connacht just three weeks ago, leading head coach Andy Friend to say of the young forward: "Paul Boyle is a natural-born leader and fully deserves the opportunity to lead out the squad for the first time."
Originally from Gorey in Co Wexford, Boyle previously captained the Ireland Under 20’s side at the World Rugby Championship.
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This article should have been written immediately after the final, not half a year later. While the content of the article is accurate with the references to the cruel bounce to Savea right before the try line, Etzebeth’s cynical infringement, and the inconsistent cards, some of the hyperbole emotional statements are unnecessary and gaslighting. The fact remains that the Springboks took their scoring opportunities. They had amazing defence throughout the entire match (limiting the ABs to one try is very respectable), their scrum was pretty good and they had quite a solid lineout despite having a part-time hooker throwing the ball in. Let’s give credit where credit is due and move forward. The Springboks won because they know how to win big games through strong defence and kicking, and they had lady luck on their side on the day. The All Blacks miraculously made the final despite everyone’s predictions and could’ve won the whole damn thing with 14 men who should’ve taken better advantage of their scoring chances and committed less mistakes (shoddy lineouts, dropped balls, some poor kicks and passing, etc), and an average coach and captain with some questionable tactics (Jordie kicking for goal late in the game from a dodgy position and perhaps the wrong game plan overall). Time to move on.
Go to commentsGreat mythology - no surprises Ox didn't talk about being driven backwards by Laulala in the RWC final!
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