Tuesday, February 9, 2010 Previous editions
Friday, July 03, 2009
SOUTH AFRICA forward Schalk Burger has reacted to his eight-week suspension byinsisting: "I am not a rugby thug."
Burger will miss tomorrow’s Test series finale against the British and Irish Lions at Ellis Park after being banned following a first-minute incident during South Africa’s 28-25 win in Pretoria last weekend.
He was found guilty of making contact with the face in the eye area of Lions wing Luke Fitzgerald, but received only a yellow card.
Despite the statement, though, he has not publicly apologised either to Fitzgerald or the Lions.
Canadian judicial officer Alan Hudson, who heard the Burger case, said he did not find the player’s actions intentional, but he did believe them to be "clearly reckless".
And Hudson added he was "unable to conclude" any eye-gouging on Burger’s part, although he said contact with Fitzgerald’s left eye could not be described as "insignificant".
In deciding on the length of ban – which was lower than many people expected – Hudson took into account Burger’s previous disciplinary record, his character and the player’s remorse.
Burger said: "As a proud South African and Springbok rugby player, I only have the utmost respect for the traditions of the wonderful game of rugby.
"Through my life and career I have always approached the game with the intention only of playing it hard and fair.
"I am not a rugby thug and will never intentionally engage in eye-gouging or similar illegal actions. This was also the case in the second Test against the Lions.
"I am therefore grateful that the judicial officer confirmed my stance with his conclusion that there was no deliberate eye-gouging as charged by the citing official.
"I will always play the game as hard as possible within the rules.
"I apologise to my supporters and fellow team-mates for the fact that I have been absent for the first 10 minutes of the second Test. I look forward to returning with zest in due course."
The Lions limp into tomorrow’s third Test with only the bizarre side selected by de Villiers giving them encouragement.
Lions coach Ian McGeechan produced a surprise of his own, preferring Joe Worsley at blind side flanker to the industrious Tom Croft , and excluding Luke Fitzgerald for one defensive error made in last week’s Test.
The reaction of pundit and ex-out Lions half Stuart Barnes summed up the surprise: "I can’t quite fathom what Tom Croft did wrong; fine, Luke Fitzgerald was caught defensively off first phase for one of their tries, but then you have to judge that against the three scoring chances that Ugo Monye fluffed in the first Test. Now he is back in the team and I don’t think there is much justice in that," he said.
Phil Vickery is back in the team after a traumatic first Test outing in which he was replaced after 45 minutes, but McGeechan expressed little doubt that he would be able to cope with anything Tendai "The Beast" Mtawarira would throw at him.
"Phil is a world class prop who had a bad day; I think the refereeing has been pretty good in that area in the second Test and I feel we have got a lot of things sorted out with the referees on the scrum area. I don’t have any concerns now; threesome issues in that first match that have been clarified and the scrums are far more stable since then," he said.
The coach has gone for a 5-2 split between forwards and backs on the bench, with a place there for Ireland’s John Hayes, who came out and played in last week’s midweek game against the Emerging Springboks.
There’s a new midfield partnership in Tommy Bowe and Riki Flutey. "They will be a different mix, they will bring a different balance to the game but Tommy is a pretty good all round footballer, he’s big, strong, a good runner and has a good brain, so I reckon they could trouble the Boks as well," said McGeechan. "That’s what I would like to see; two quality players bringing the best rugby out of each other. There is no doubt but that it will be a challenge for both of them."
Five players – Bowe, fly-half Stephen Jones, scrum-half Mike Phillips, skipper Paul O’Connell and number eight Jamie Heaslip – will head home next week having had the distinction of starting all three Tests. Both McGeechan and Lions manager Gerald Davies, meanwhile, moved to ease any tension between the rival camps following a fraught third Test build-up.
Not only did Burger and Botha collect bans, but Springboks coach Peter de Villiers also suggested there had been no official congratulations from the Lions on South Africa’s Test series triumph.
But McGeechan countered: "I certainly said ‘well done’ on the series. Twice, when we were both coming away from different media things (last Saturday), I shook his (De Villiers’) hand and said ‘well done’.
"I think it has been a fantastic series. South Africa’s finishing has been top-class, as has their defence. To have two games like that, and hopefully have a third, I think everyone will have got a lot from it."
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