Munster Rugby's Tadhg Beirne: 'The style of the game has gone backwards'

MUNSTER Rugby head coach Tadhg Beirne outlined his frustration at the direction the style of the sport is going following their United Rugby Championship defeat to Leinster at a sold-out Thomond Park on Saturday night.

Beirne feels the style of the game has 'gone backwards' under the sport's current laws. 

The stop-start nature of many contests, Beirne believes, is being contributed by the increase in contestable kicks, which is slowing down the game as a spectacle.

Speaking to the media following Munster's 13-8 loss to current URC champions Leinster, Beirne said: “Let’s be honest about it, the style of the game has gone backwards. If we're being serious, teams are just kicking the ball.

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"It’s just kick, chase, scrum and then go from there. You want a bit more flow to the game, personally. I suppose that's my opinion on it," 33-year-old Beirne said.

"I guess all teams are probably spending a lot more time on how they exit and their kicking game and all that kind of stuff.

"It'll probably take away from attack and defence a little bit because you have to spend so much time on kicking.

"How you chase a kick, what your set-up is, all that kind of stuff."