Irish teams are known for their 'dark arts' in rugby games, whether it's their national side or clubs.
So it is no surprise Leinster pulled the stunt of shouting in the line-outs against the Stormers this past weekend in their United Rugby Championship (URC) encounter in Dublin.
While the Capetonians were outplayed in the second half, not being helped by the loss of their game driver Manie Libbok and line-out ace JD Schickerling, the acts of certain players from Leinster at the line-outs did not sit well with the Cape side and their captain Deon Fourie.
The shouting and calling numbers not on their throw happened constantly, and you could see the bemused looks on the faces of the Stormers players when they had to throw in.
They didn't know what was happening, and it was probably the first time in the tournament they experienced something like this. This was also the first time Leinster picked up a win against the Cape side, so you could understand the frustration emanating from their camp.
Fourie, as the leader, was well within his rights to ask the referee, Irishmen Eoghan Cross to do something about it. But his pleas for some sanity in the line-outs, just that they could hear their calls, fell on deaf ears and he cut a frustrating figure at times.
Cross wasn't supposed to handle the match and the URC could've done a better job at getting a neutral replacement for Italian Andrea Piardi. Because of travel disruptions as a result of Storm Eowyn, Piardie could not travel. But surely another URC referee from Wales or Scotland could've stepped in.
This is not to say it's due to the Irish referee that the Stormers lost. The 36-12 results show Leinster's dominance and their unbeaten season speaks for itself.
A different ref, though, would've likely listened to Fourie's pleas and ended the shouting in the line-outs as soon as it was brought to his attention.
Like Fourie said, there is no gamesmanship in that. And if teams are allowed to shout in line-outs to prevent their opponents from getting their calls across, it could soon become a shouting fest.
His chat with the referee and Cross not doing anything to stop it should also be something that does not happen again. It will be good for the URC referee bosses to get that message across to their match officials.
It should be rooted out immediately and teams found to be offending should face the consequences on the field.