McMillan backs Coombes as groin-grab allegation against Leinster's Kelleher heads to citing commissioner

Munster head coach Clayton McMillan has thrown his full support behind No.8 Gavin Coombes after the back-row levelled a groin-grab allegation against Leinster hooker Ronan Kelleher during Munster’s 24-18 URC defeat at the Aviva Stadium. The incident, which occurred during a ruck at approximately the 37-minute mark, is now in the hands of SRU citing commissioner Peter Ferguson, who has 48 hours to decide whether to bring a formal case.

Coombes approached referee Andrew Brace just before half-time to make the accusation, with screenshots circulating on social media pointing to Kelleher as the player at the centre of the claim. The allegation became the dominant post-match talking point, overshadowing a dramatic Leinster comeback that saw the hosts overturn a 13-0 deficit.

“It’s one of those things where you leave it for the powers that be,” McMillan told the post-match press conference. “All I know is that I back our players 100 per cent that if they make an allegation like that, they wouldn’t do it lightly. And he’s not that sort of person, Gavin, so we’ll see where that goes.”

Leinster head coach Leo Cullen was measured in his response, stressing he had not witnessed the incident himself. “I didn’t see anything… I don’t know,” said Cullen. “It looked like he [Coombes] changed his mind halfway through the accusation as well, so I don’t know. Once that accusation is made it becomes a serious matter for the citing commissioner, so my comments cannot help in any way here. It’s not ideal.”

On the pitch, Leinster’s recovery was built on Ryan Baird’s try, which sparked the turnaround after Charlie O’Shea’s boot and Shane Daly’s first-half score had given Munster the early initiative. Jamison Gibson-Park’s sharp pass sent Tommy O’Brien over before the break to bring Leinster level, before further scores from Charlie Tector and Jamie Osborne completed the comeback. Ben O’Connor grabbed a late consolation try for the visitors, but it was not enough to prevent Munster from leaving Dublin empty-handed.