Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Jaden Hendrikse's wink to Jack Crowley was spotted by the TV cameras.Premier Sports Freeall about the hits 'That game, I think, is the most viewed highlights on YouTube that we’ve ever had' URC chief executive says there has been no talk of disciplinary action after Jaden Hendrikse “gamesmanship.” 3.59pm, 4 Jun 2025 Share options UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP chief executive Martin Anayi says there hasn’t been any discussion of disciplinary action in relation to the end of Munster’s quarter-final clash with the Sharks in Durban on Saturday. While the Sharks ultimately advanced to the penultimate phase of the BKT URC with a 6-4 penalty shootout victory, the apparent ‘gamesmanship’ of Jaden Hendrikse in a dramatic conclusion to the action at Kings Park Stadium has come in for heavy criticism. After being shouted at by the South African international before his first kick, Jack Crowley’s second effort in the shootout was delayed as Hendrikse lay on the field to receive treatment for cramp and then proceeded to wink at the visibly frustrated Munster fly-half. Crowley went on to have some heated exchanges with a member of the Sharks backroom staff with a lot being made of how much personnel the South Africans had on the pitch at this point. “There is pretty tight regulation about staff, so I think if there was somebody who was on the pitch who shouldn’t have been, that will get flagged. From it being something that has spiked viewership, quite honestly, it has. That game I think is the most viewed highlights on YouTube that we’ve ever had,” Anayi said in a BKT United Rugby Championship media call earlier today. “It shows the level of intrigue in the game and interest. Spiked by, I guess, gamesmanship. Ultimately, we want characters in the sport and when you have characters and when you encourage people to show their characters, that can be positive and negative. There are heroes and villains in all stories, great sporting stories. “I guess that is kind of what is emerging here, isn’t it? Whether that turns into disciplinary, I just haven’t seen anything like that, but needless to say it certainly spiked an interest in the league.” Advertisement Last Saturday saw Munster suffering their second quarter-final shootout loss in recent memory, following a similar exit at the hands of Toulouse in the last-eight of the European Champions Cup at the Aviva Stadium in May 2022. Like last weekend, that penalty battle with the Top 14 giants saw three players from each side tasked with taking two kicks apiece at goal – albeit the southern province were already consigned to defeat on both occasions before they had a chance to take their sixth effort. Before then, the most famous shootout in club rugby was the 2009 Heineken Cup semi-final between Leicester Tigers and Cardiff Blues, when players had just one kick each from in front of the posts. Had either Munster or Sharks scored more tries (they registered three apiece) than the other over the course of Saturday’s contest, they would have progressed to the last-four even if the game was tied on the scoreboard at the end of extra-time. With this in mind – and the fact that the competition’s schedule ensured a winner had to be produced on the day – Anayi feels the best possible outcome was reached in Durban. “I think we had a bit more of a sensible structure, where you have three designated kickers taking two kicks each. There is very little other way to get the winner in the time frame, which is obviously what we need for the following week. “We felt like that was the best possible outcome once you’d gone through the other metrics of distinguishing the winner, which they were tied on. I think it was the best possible outcome. It showed drama, intrigue and got a lot of people talking. Which is not a bad thing.” Over the course of a lengthy media call, Anayi was also asked about R360 – the proposed new breakaway league for men’s and women’s club rugby that is scheduled to launch next year. “I probably know as much as you guys know, quite honestly. What we do is just focus on ourselves. We’ve got big games. You probably would have been to the 80,000 in Croke Park for the Leinster-Munster game. To have big events like that, we encourage those big games. We’re in big cities,” Anayi stated. “We’re about community though as well, we are about being part of an ecosystem which we care deeply about. We just focus on making URC as great as possible. I think if we do that, that’s all we can control.” The Leinster-Munster game that Anayi refers to was the URC fourth round clash on 12 October, 2024 that attracted 80,468 spectators to Croke Park. It was officially confirmed earlier this week that GAA HQ will host the URC’s latest decider if Leinster manage to get past Glasgow Warriors in this Saturday’s semi-final at the Aviva Stadium. It would be a major challenge to sell tickets for a potential Croke Park showpiece at just seven days’ notice (the attendance for Leinster’s quarter-final against Scarlets in the Aviva last Saturday was a paltry 12,879), but the prospect of another URC encounter taking place at the north Dublin venue is something that intrigues Anayi. “Obviously we’ve had a league game there already. We’ve got a really good relationship with the GAA and the leadership there. Obviously working very closely with Leinster. There’s a lot of tickets to sell in a very short period of time, that one week,” Anayi added. “We’re being realistic about what can happen in one week, but it’s exciting. We’d love to have that as a spectacle, which is one of the brilliant things that is happening in Ireland. That we’re seeing rugby being played in GAA stadiums very successfully.” Daire Walsh Viewcomments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “'That game, I think, is the most viewed highlights on YouTube that we’ve ever had'”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “'That game, I think, is the most viewed highlights on YouTube that we’ve ever had'”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details of the problem with the comment... This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy before taking part. Leave a Comment Submit a report Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines. Damaging the good reputation of someone, slander, or libel. Racism or Hate speech An attack on an individual or group based on religion, race, gender, or beliefs. 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