Rugby’s Social Media Moments of the Week: Jaden Hendrikse splits opinion during epic penalty shootout

Another weekend of rugby has passed, with plenty of moments to look back on. 

The Premiership and Super Rugby Pacific played out the final weekend of their regular seasons, while the URC brought drama in the quarter-finals. 

As usual, rugby’s social media presence stretched beyond those three leagues and managed to spot moments from across the entire rugby world. 

Plenty of things have been said regarding some of the biggest moments in the sport, and here are some of the best rugby social media moments from this weekend. 

Prem Top Four Confirmed 

The Premiership played out its final round this weekend, with all five games taking place at the same time on Saturday. 

There were four teams who had a chance of finishing in the final two play-off spots, with Sale Sharks and Bristol Bears needing wins to avoid letting Saracens or Gloucester in. 

Bristol put in an outstanding attacking performance to breeze past Harlequins, but it wasn’t plain sailing for Sale.  

They struggled to get going against Exeter Chiefs and survived a late scare to win 30-26 at Sandy Park. 

The last round had enough drama to keep fans engaged, but ended up not conjuring up many surprises. 

Penalty Shootout Drama in URC 

In the URC quarter-finals, nothing could split Sharks and Munster after the 80 minutes and extra-time, and they played out a 24-24 draw in Durban. 

Because it was a knockout game, the winner was decided by a penalty shootout, a pretty rare occurrence in rugby. 

The hosts showed plenty of gamesmanship with Jaden Hendrikse ruffling a few feathers by doing all he could to put off the Munster kickers, including feigning an injury and having a few words with Jack Crowley. 

Most disagreed with the antics and called out the lack of class shown by the Sharks, but the South Africans will be happy that they were on the winning side and have progressed to the URC semis. 

Italian Rugby Scenes 

Rovigo won their 15th Italian Championship with a 27-21 win against Viadana, and the scenes that awaited the team’s return showed that rugby is still alive in Italy. 

The team coach was greeted by a sea of fans from the town who flooded the streets, armed with flares, horns and plenty of noise. 

Located just north of Bologna, Rovigo is seen as a proper rugby town within Italy, and it was great to see that the fan culture is still going strong there. 

Given the struggle that domestic rugby has with the main clubs in the country playing in the URC, it will have provided a big boost to the league as a whole, too. 

Scarlets Football Skills 

Scarlets put in a strong performance against Leinster but were eventually beaten by the Dublin side, who showed their class. 

This game will always be remembered for the try scored by Blair Murray and assisted by Ellis Mee, which looked more suited to a Premier League game than the URC. 

Mee and Murray capitalised on a loose pass in their own 22 to break through with lightning pace, kicking the ball almost the entire length of the pitch before Murray managed to finish it. 

The way that they managed to keep the ball under control while running at such a high speed was remarkable. 

Tommy Freeman and Henry Pollock reflect on the Champions Cup 

One of the greatest parts of Northampton Saints’ Champions Cup run has been the behind-the-scenes insight that fans have gotten throughout the run. 

Despite their loss to Bordeaux-Begles in the final, that coverage hasn’t stopped. 

Tommy Freeman and Henry Pollock discussed the aftermath of the game, which saw Pollock’s ‘pulse check’ celebration being mimicked by numerous members of the UBB side. 

They also spoke about their point of view regarding the scuffle that broke out at the final whistle on the podcast with David Flatman.

It was a candid insight into the aftermath of such a highly anticipated final, which has seen plenty of drama off the field. 

Sefo Kautai Step 

Who doesn’t love a big man pulling out some nifty footwork? 

Rugby social media was all over Sefo Kautai’s naughty step in the Highlanders’ defeat against the Chiefs. 

He sent Ollie Norris to the shops, and the Chiefs’ man didn’t even attempt a tackle, instead just stumbling after Kautai’s step to the right. 

Super Rugby Pacific is often heralded as showing some of the best attacking rugby in the world, and when props are pulling out moves like that, it is hard to disagree. 

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