Schalk Burger and Jean de Villiers questioned how anyone was expected to make sense of the differing interpretations and punishment of foul play in the game.
Alongside fellow Springbok Hanyani Shimange, Burger and De Villiers kicked off the latest episode of the Boks Unpacked X The Verdict podcast discussing the testicle-grabbing incidents involving Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Tadhg Furlong.
Leinster’s Furlong was cleared last week after being cited for allegedly grabbing Munster No 8 Gavin Coombes’ genitals during a URC match.
This sparked controversy in the Republic, where the Bulls’ Wessels received a nine-week ban (later reduced to eight) last season following an alleged similar incident involving Connacht flank Josh Murphy.
Burger flagged the evidence behind Wessels’ suspension and the wider inconsistency in disciplinary decisions.
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“Jan-Hendrik Wessels. There was no evidence of him being close to touching someone’s balls, or was he cleaned out? Was it a clean-out? What was it? He got 12 weeks, then went on appeal and ended up with nine weeks, but he got 12 weeks.
“That’s the issue we’ve got in the entire game. One week there’s a tackle, it’s a red card, 20-minute red card. The next week, same tackle, play on.”
De Villiers stressed that his criticism was not directed at Furlong, but at the lack of clarity around disciplinary decisions.
“This is not an attack on Tadhg Furlong. He seems like a fantastic individual. But the consistency within the game is killing it.
“And the fact that even us who work within the game, we don’t understand if something happens. We’ve got no idea.
“It’s a flip of a coin to get to a decision eventually, because you just don’t know what’s going to happen.”
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Burger highlighted the confusion surrounding foul play, pointing out that even those who had played the game struggled to agree on the interpretations.
“So if the three of us see an event happening, and we’re not even now referring to Tadhg Furlong, the issue is if there’s a tackle or a clean-out, the alignment’s gone between the three of us, and we watch almost every single game every weekend.
“So what chance has the average Joe sitting there having a lager got if we can’t get it right?”
“No chance,” De Villiers replied.
Photo: Stu Forster/Getty Images
The post Jean: Consistency in rugby is killing it appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Schalk Burger and Jean de Villiers questioned how anyone was expected to make sense of the differing interpretations and punishment of foul play in the game.
The post Jean: Consistency in rugby is killing it appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
