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 Ireland and Munster lock Tadhg Beirne.Matteo Ciambelli/INPHO Freethe dupont incident 'The backlash myself and Porter and our families got was probably enough punishment for us' Tadhg Beirne on the ‘Dupont incident’ and Munster’s Champions Cup last-16 clash away to La Rochelle. 5.34pm, 1 Apr 2025 Share options TADHG BEIRNE SAYS he attempted to reach out to Antoine Dupont after the French scrum-half suffered a season-ending ACL injury following a ruck clear-out by Beirne and teammate Andrew Porter during Ireland’s defeat to France in the Six Nations. France were incensed by the incident, with head coach Fabien Galthié publicly reporting Ireland second row Beirne and loosehead Porter to the citing commissioner. However, the commissioner later agreed with the match officials’ assessment that neither Beirne nor Porter had committed foul play in their efforts to remove Dupont from the ruck. And speaking publicly about the incident for the first time in the lead-up to Munster’s Champions Cup last-16 tie away to La Rochelle this Saturday, Beirne said that the “backlash” experienced by him, Porter, and their respective families had been punishment enough for what was ultimately deemed a ‘rugby incident’. Beirne added that he was sorry that Dupont had suffered the injury but that it had never been his intention to “injure the best player in the world.” Antoine Dupont suffered a season-ending injury against Ireland during the Six Nations.Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO “Yeah, look, I reached out to him,” Beirne said. “I messaged him on Instagram. I tried looking for him after the game as well but I couldn’t get to him; he’s obviously with medical teams and that. Advertisement “Y’know, he has a million followers or something on Instagram, I’m pretty sure he’s not going to see a message from me, but look, it’s all I could do at the time. I sent my regards through Grégory Aldritt as well. It’s an incident, obviously, where you can slow it down and it can look bad, but it’s an incident that wasn’t intentional. Like, I never intended to injure him. The last thing I want to do is injure the best player in the world. “You don’t go out there to hurt anyone but it was just unfortunate the way it happened,” Beirne added. “And I’m sorry for the fact that it happened to him. You don’t like see it happen to any player. But the backlash myself and Porter and our families got afterward was probably enough punishment for us on its own, to be honest with you. Beirne’s international teammate Porter is among the several Irish players who have experienced victory over La Rochelle in the last two seasons for their province, with two of Leinster’s victories — including their most recent, during this season’s Champions Cup pool stage — being achieved at the Stade Marcel-Deflandre. Beirne said that a few Leinster players had mentioned to their Munster counterparts “a few things to be aware of” ahead of Saturday’s knockout meeting with Ronan O’Gara’s side in France’s southwest. However, the Munster captain laughed and politely declined when invited to expand upon the advice he had received. But Beirne, at least in so far as he’s inclined to be publicly, was bullish about Munster’s chances against the two-time European champions, with Munster the form side heading into Saturday’s encounter simply by dint of having won a game recently. Where the southern province held out for an impressive 14-man victory over Connacht at MacHale Park on Saturday, O’Gara’s ‘Rochelais’ haven’t won a game since their January defeat to Leinster, losing seven and drawing one of their last eight. And while Beirne expects La Rochelle to be able to switch gears for a do-or-die European affair against their head coach’s native province, he believes Munster can extend their European season if they play to their own capacity this Saturday evening. Captain Tadhg Beirne following Munster's victory over Connacht.James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO “It’s not going to define our season, like,” Beirne said. “We still have the league. But how sweet would it be to be staying in this competition for as long as we can, and try to get to a final to give a chance for some silverware? That’s that’s our mentality, anyway. “We’re probably the underdogs going into this away from home, but we’ll certainly give it a good crack and we’re very excited. Behind closed doors, we know we have a good chance of doing it if we put in a complete performance, and that’s the target. “There’s no point in being in it if you’re just gonna bend over and give up, y’know?” Beirne added. “So, for me, it’s about believing in what we can do when we’re at our best. “They (La Rochelle) are going through a rough patch — like they’ve lost a few league games — but this is a different competition, so it gives them probably a new opportunity just to go out there and give it a proper crack. And when you go from one competition to the next, it can give you a little bit of a new lease of life as well, so I’d certainly be expecting that from them.” When asked what areas of Munster’s game have to be especially pristine against O’Gara’s side, who are currently six-point favourites for this weekend’s last-16 encounter, Beirne replied: “The obvious one that everyone’s looking at is the power game, isn’t it?” “They have some unbelievably big and skillful forwards with unbelievable offloading skills”, Beirne added, “so I can imagine it’s a big area they’re going to target: trying to beat us up up front. “So, I think our defence is going to be the biggest part of of Saturday, y’know? If we get our defence right and if we can shut them down and not give them easy yards, I think we’ll give ourselves a bit of a chance.” Gavan Casey Viewcomments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “'The backlash myself and Porter and our families got was probably enough punishment for us'”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “'The backlash myself and Porter and our families got was probably enough punishment for us'”. 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. Trolling or Off-topic An attempt to derail the discussion. Inappropriate language Profanity, obscenity, vulgarity, or slurs. Advertising, phishing, scamming, bots, or repetitive posts. Please provide additional information Thank you for the feedback Your feedback has been sent to our team for review. Leave a commentcancel Access to the comments facility has been disabled for this user View our policy ⚠️ Duplicate comment Post Comment have your say Or create a free account to join the discussion Tadhg Beirne the dupont incident News in 60 seconds FreeCeltic Boys Club Settlement agreed in Celtic Boys Club historical abuse cases 32 mins ago Ireland assistant coach to miss Greece double-header due to passport issue O'Mahony returns to training ahead of Munster's trip to La Rochelle Louis Bielle-Biarrey wins Six Nations player of the championship FreeHigh Court Former Limerick hurler awarded close to €950K in damages over workplace accident Constitution Hill and Lossiemouth poised for Aintree Hurdle rematch Freesquad update Cian Prendergast's return to training planned for next week Munster set to appeal against Alex Nankivell's red card AnalysisNumber 10 Munster's Jack Crowley cleverly bosses the Test in the West Murray Kinsella Dates For Diary Here's this week's GAA inter-county schedule and TV coverage FreeHigh Court Former Limerick hurler awarded close to €950K in damages over workplace accident more from us Investigates Daft.ie Property Magazine Allianz Home Magazine The 42 Sports Magazine Money Diaries The Journal TV Journal Media Advertise With Us About FactCheck Our Network FactCheck Knowledge Bank Terms & Legal Notices Terms of Use Cookies & Privacy Advertising Competition more from us TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Journal Media Advertise With Us Our Network The Journal FactCheck Knowledge Bank Terms & Legal Notices Terms of Use Cookies & Privacy Advertising Competition © 2025 Journal Media Ltd Terms of Use Cookies & Privacy Advertising Competition Switch to Desktop Switch to Mobile The 42 supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and the Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at https://www.presscouncil.ie, PH: (01) 6489130, Lo-Call 1800 208 080 or email: mailto:info@presscouncil.ie Report an error, omission or problem: Your Email (optional) Create Email Alert Create an email alert based on the current article Email Address One email every morning As soon as new articles come online Sign in or create a free account To continue reading create a free account Or sign into an existing account