Schalk Burger, Hanyani Shimange and Jean de Villiers agreed that All Blacks scrumhalf Cam Roigard’s gamesmanship has no place in the game.
They were discussing an incident during the third Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Test last week, when Roigard grappled with Cobus Reinach after the Springboks were awarded a penalty try.
The New Zealand halfback went to ground and appeared to hold his face, resulting in a penalty against his opposite number.
De Villiers criticised Roigard’s actions on SuperSport post-match, and speaking on the Boks Unpacked X The Verdict podcast, fellow Bok Burger questioned why the Kiwi was not sanctioned.
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“Why doesn’t Cam Roigard get a yellow card? Instead, we get a penalty against us on the halfway line for a bit of gamesmanship,” Burger said.
He then referenced former referee Nigel Owens’ famous warning to Scotland’s Stuart Hogg during the 2015 Rugby World Cup: “That’s not called for in our game.”
The ex-loose forward also argued that the All Blacks should have received a yellow card for the infringement that led to the penalty try, before dismissing the suggestion that Reinach had committed foul play.
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“That’s not a tip tackle. He didn’t land on his head; he just got rolled over,” he said.
“But then obviously, there was the gamesmanship – you were watching too much of the football World Cup in America. I mean, that is not allowed on a rugby field.”
A vociferous Shimange said players need to stop exaggerating incidents to influence officials.
“The animation stuff must stop. All of them,” he said. “You get guys now where the doctor runs on and this and the guy’s holding his neck, but he’s not really that sore. So, they need to cut that out of the game.”
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He said such actions can have serious consequences for opponents, particularly when referees and TMOs are forced to make decisions on simulated injuries.
“You end up getting a red card and suspended, when you could have just got up and said, ‘Listen, it was a mistake. If it’s fine, let’s move on.’”
De Villiers noted that the Roigard incident was not entirely isolated, pointing to a similar episode during Super Rugby earlier this year.
Roigard defended that incident at the time, saying he did not regret his actions and viewed it simply as part of the game.
Photo: Floris van Schouwenburg/Gallo Images
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Schalk Burger, Hanyani Shimange and Jean de Villiers agreed that All Blacks scrumhalf Cam Roigard’s gamesmanship has no place in the game.
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