A history of penalty shootouts in rugby
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Saturday's Champions Cup quarter-final between Munster and Toulouse produced a rare occurrence in rugby as the game had to be decided on a shootout.
While knock out games in football will often go to penalty shootouts, the occurrence in rugby is far rarer.
We take a look at some of the other games to have come down to a shootout after the sides could not be separated.
Munster v Toulouse - 2022
Not often you see a kicking competition in rugby 🏉 🎯 #MUNvTOU #HeinekenChampionsCup
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— Ultimate Rugby (@ultimaterugby) May 7, 2022
Munster and Toulouse have produced enthralling Champions Cup matchups in the past and Saturday's encounter was no different.
The sides were level at 14 apiece at halftime and couldn't be separated after 80 minutes as the sides remained levelled at 24 all.
Extra time did not break the deadlock either and in the end it was Antoine Dupont's successful kick that won it for the French side.
Biarritz v Bayonne - 2021
We start with last season's TOP14 access match between Biarritz and Bayonne with the Basque derby serving up a classic as Biarritz secured passage back to the Top 14 for the 2021/22 season.
The sides could not be separated after 100 minutes of action level six points apiece. Both sides slotted their opening five shots at goal before Bayonne's Aymeric Luc was the first to miss.
Former England flanker Steffon Armitage stepped up and nailed the sudden death kick to win it.
Ireland U18 vs Georgia U18 - 2007
The examples of shootouts taking place in professional rugby is few and far between but at youth level is slightly more common.
During the 2207 FIRA-AER U-18 European Championship in Dax, Georgia claimed two shootout wins to book a place in the final.
The game between Ireland and Georgia finished level at 8 points apiece and with no extra-time in the tournament, the game went straight to penalties.
Georgia ultimately beat Ireland before doing the same to Italy after a 6-6 draw after 80 minute Georgia won 5-4 on penalties.
A 14-man University of Free State Shimlas U-21 side beat its University of Pretoria Tuks counterpart 3-1 in a very rare shootout at the end of the Varsity Cup Young Guns final.
The match had ended 17-17 after extra time.
Lastly, probably the most famous penalty shootout in rugby occurred back in 2009 during the Heineken Cup.
Leicester Tigers booked a Heineken Cup final date with Leinster after beating Cardiff Blues 7-6 in a historic sudden death penalty shoot-out at the Millennium Stadium.
Jordan Crane slotted the match-winning place kick for the Tigers after the Blues had fought back bravely to level the match at 26-26 and take the contest into extra time.
A match that enthralled from start to finish was decided by a dramatic shoot-out, the first of its kind in the tournament's 14-year history, was an ill-fitting climax to a match that enthralled from start to finish.
Neither side was able to break the deadlock in extra time the match would be decided by the kicking prowess of the respective teams.
Leicester's Johne Murphy missed his kick from the 22-metre line to give James the chance to win it for the Blues but he also failed to hit the target and as a result, the duel went into sudden-death. The final twist in the tale saw the Blues' Martyn Williams pull his effort wide of the posts before Crane stepped up to slot the match-winning kick and set the seal on the most dramatic match in Heineken Cup history.
