Rugby’s Social Media Moments of the Week: Adam Radwan’s flying finish is one for the ages

With the Premiership and URC semi-finals having taken place this weekend, alongside the Pro D2 play-off final, rugby saw plenty of drama. 

Bath and Leicester Tigers booked their places at Twickenham, whilst Leinster and Bulls will face off at Croke Park to decide the winners of their respective leagues. 

Fans saw plenty of things happening both on and off the pitch as always, with social media providing a great insight into what was going on across the globe. 

Here, Charlie Elliott goes through some of rugby’s most talked-about moments from social media this weekend. 

Pro D2 madness 

The Pro D2 yet again showed why it is regarded as the best second tier in rugby, with an unbelievable game in the play-off final between Grenoble and Montauban. 

Montauban just about avoided relegation to the Nationale last season but now find themselves playing in the Top 14 next season, for the first time since 2010. 

They beat Grenoble 24-19 at the Stade Ernst-Wallon against all odds, scoring a brilliant end-to-end try in the process. 

Their rise this season has been remarkable and is easily one of the best stories of the season. 

Controversial end to Prem semi-final 

Tigers’ game against Sale ended in slightly controversial fashion, with Luke Cowan-Dickie’s knock-on as the clock was in the red finishing off what was a brilliant semi-final. 

The Freddie Steward tackle, which caused the knock-on, has been questioned, with a debate surrounding whether he wrapped his arms for a tackle and if he forced head-on head contact. 

There was contact between Cowan-Dickie and Steward’s heads, but the referee’s consensus was that Steward’s arms had wrapped enough around the Sale hooker. 

Cowan-Dickie’s head was also extremely low, which was seen as the main reason behind the contact, meaning that the tackle was acceptable and went unpunished, and the game finished. 

Fans have been having endless debates about whether or not it was the right decision, with plenty on either side of the fence. 

Jaden Hendrikse’s Slip

After last week’s antics against Munster, some may say that Jaden Hendrikse had a bit of karma come his way in the Sharks‘ defeat against the Bulls. 

He slipped while attempting to box kick, with the ball falling straight to Sebastian de Klerk, who kicked it over to Canan Moodie to finish for a try. 

There hasn’t been much sympathy for Hendrikse following his cramp and wink against Munster in the quarters, with many seeing it as a deserved mistake and loss for the Sharks. 

Radwan’s Superman Leap 

Adam Radwan’s try against Sale Sharks was simply magnificent.  

The Leicester Tigers winger leapt like Superman to latch onto a slightly wayward Handre Pollard kick, to catch and dot down in the corner. 

A player who is known for his pace, Radwan had to use every fibre in his body to get to the ball for the finish, which proved crucial as his side only won by five points against Sale. 

Everyone was quick to praise the try and deservedly so. 

British and Irish Lions Shakeup 

Big news has come out of the Lions camp that Zander Fagerson will be replaced by Finlay Bealham at tighthead, following a persistent injury for the Scotland man. 

Some have disagreed with Bealham’s inclusion, but the Ireland player has always seemed to be the logical fourth choice tighthead. 

There have also been a couple of changes for the upcoming training camp in Portugal, with Jamie George and Asher Opoku-Fordjour added as cover for some of the players away for the upcoming Premiership and URC finals. 

While the training camp changes don’t represent long-term fixes, George and Opoku-Fordjour have now effectively been given a vote of confidence that they would be the next ones up in their given positions, should someone have to drop out. 

Bielle-Biarrey continues run 

Seemingly, nothing can stop the 21-year-old phenomenon that is Louis Bielle-Biarrey. 

The Bordeaux Begles winger got a couple of tries in their huge win over Vannes, which would seem relatively un-newsworthy until realising that it has brought his season total to 33 tries in 29 games. 

For anyone, that is an insane number, but considering that he is still only 21 makes that number even more impressive. 

Fans have been labelling him as one of the best try scorers of all time already, a true testament to how good of a season he has had. 

Rob du Preez’s insane stat 

Another player who has been spoken about on social media this weekend for having an unbelievable stat is Rob du Preez of Sale Sharks. 

The centre played every single minute of the Premiership season, a truly remarkable achievement. 

That totals up to 1440 minutes played in total, with 108 points scored in that time. 

During this season, he has also broken the record for the most consecutive Premiership starts, reaching 64 in a row just before the new year. 

He is now up to 75 and doesn’t seem to show any signs of stopping. 

While Sale fell to Tigers, RDP can be proud of the season that he has had. 

By Charlie Elliott

READ MORE: Premiership & URC Team of the Week – Home comfort in Semi-Finals