Rassie Unable To Defend Eben From Justified Red Card

Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus was left lost for words after Eben Etzebeth was sent off in the final minutes for gouging the eye of Alex Mann, despite South Africa having dominated Wales with 11 tries at the Principality Stadium on Saturday.

It was a poor moment from Etzebeth, who is never shy to get into a scuffle and is the most experienced player in the Springboks squad.

The incident left a bitter taste, as it overshadowed the record 73-0 victory.

Head coach Erasmus shared his view on the matter, though he chose his words carefully.

“I don’t know what I can say that won’t be controversial,” said Erasmus.

Erasmus admitted the situation was far from ideal. “I didn’t look good. It’s a justified red card.”

The incident left French referee Luc Ramos with no choice but to send off the double World Cup winner in his 141st Test match. 

The Springboks have been no strangers to the red card during the Autumn Nations Series, as this was the third red card they have had to deal with, following the sending-offs of Lood de Jager against France and Franco Mostert against Italy. 

Incidentally, all the players sent off have played in the lock position. 

The two-time Rugby World Cup-winning coach seemed at a loss as to what caused the ruckus and remained coy on the issue.

“How and why it happened and why he was provoked, I’m not sure. That’s definitely not the way we want to end a game.”

Captain Siya Kolisi added his insight to the incident.

“I’m sure he didn’t mean to do that on purpose. There’s no way,” Kolisi said. “Eben said sorry to the guy already. But I don’t want that to be the highlight of the day. It’s been a good day.”

Gouging carries a lengthy ban in rugby, with the low-end point being 12 weeks, but cases have also resulted in over 24-week bans. Extreme cases have seen players banned for two years.

Springbok legend and record try scorer, Bryan Habana, weighed in with his view, echoing what Erasmus said – that it is a justified red card – but also saying that there is no room for such actions in the game, and anticipated a lengthy ban for the Springbok lock. 

Etzebeth will appear before a disciplinary panel this week.

South Africa does not play again for over six months, which means a ban might not affect Etzebeth’s international career unless he receives a punishment in excess of 30 weeks. His club side, though, the Sharks, will suffer more heavily, as he could be ruled out for a significant portion of their season.