The Springboks have had an unbelievable year, winning 12 of their 14 test matches and setting the bar so high that they are miles ahead of the chasing pack.
But if there is one aspect of their play that has, at times, disappointed, it is their discipline.
While we were all incensed about the inconsistency from referees in both the Lood de Jager and Franco Mostert incidents on their recent tour of Europe where they had to win both tests against France and Italy with 14 men, those weren’t the only red cards the team has received.
There is a general perception - unwarranted for most arguments - that the Springboks are a team with dirty players.
When your side is getting pummelled up front, and the physical domination is so great that you have no answer, it is easy to see opposition supporters turn to this and goodness knows there have been more than enough examples in the past to underline this belief.
Even with the recent ban of young Bok utility forward Jan-Hendrik Wessels this has persisted, and there were more than genuine concerns about how the process played out, the bias in the match commissioner’s report and the genuine lack of evidence for the act that he was convicted for.
BOKS LABELLED “DIRTY” AGAIN
The accusation that Springbok players are dirty has been levelled more than once and floods social media sites. And while it is a good rule not to take social media too seriously, the Boks and their supporters haven’t done themselves justice in this regard either.
There have been four red cards this season and four cards in 14 matches is simply too much. We can debate some of them, but in reality the world champions should be better and some of the cards have bordered on stupidity rather than luck.
In De Jager’s case, the tackle was executed poorly and there was head contact. By the standards that World Rugby are applying that is a straight red. Whether it was a permanent red or whether it deserved a 20-minute red and needed to be sent to the bunker for review was really the only debate that needed to be had.
Later imagery that Thomas Ramos’ arm hit De Jager deflecting his motion and the influence of a second tackler was dismissed by the disciplinary committee as they felt it didn’t have that much influence.
Franco Mostert was hard done by as the TMO ruled that there was head contact when replays clearly showed there wasn’t. That alone should have made it a bunker call, but the referee was talked into a permanent red and World Rugby rightly rescinded this afterwards and downgraded it to a yellow.
In my experience the fact they downgraded to a yellow and didn’t take the card away in its entirety was a typical example of trying to play down a situation without throwing the officials under the bus.
TWO RED CARDS TOO MANY
But the other two red cards that the Boks received cannot be debated, were avoidable and do the team that has performed superbly this year no justice.
There was the red card for Jasper Wiese - a player who was sorely missed in his absence when he was handed a six match ban for a head butt that was not only out of character, but also rather stupid as it had no place in the context of the game.
Wiese served his ban, but you would be hard pressed to find any member of the Bok management defending his actions in the process. For some it was a reminder that the Boks were these physical brutes who shouldn’t be let out of their cages, a hail back to the dirty Boks of the past.
That accusation came flooding back on social media this past weekend when Eben Etzebeth was rightly red carded for an eye gouge on Wales star Alex Mann.
NO EXCUSE FOR ETZEBETH
There is no excuse and never will be an excuse for eye gouging in modern rugby. That cannot be defended in any situation and shouldn’t be in any case. Since the incident there have been a flood of accusations about Etzebeth being a dirty player.
His record suggests the complete opposite and while he is an intimidating and physically dominant player who has been exceptional in his 140-plus tests for the Springboks, he certainly isn’t the thug that some people make him out to be.
So yes, what happened in Cardiff was out of character and so perplexing for many supporters, but just as perplexing was the reaction of some supporters who took to social media to defend him.
There has been some grainy footage put out - in one case by Bryan Habana - suggesting that Etzebeth had been earlier eye gouged in a ruck himself.
Even if that is true, that is no justification for Etzebeth’s actions and whatever led up to the incident isn’t either. There was no reason for him to do what he did and if any of that footage is true, it will only see another player banned and won’t be much mitigation for Etzebeth, who now faces a long ban for his actions.
FANS DEFENDING THE INDEFENSIBLE
South Africa have one of the most passionate fan bases in the world, and their support and defence of their team is often great to see. But there are times when we should all admit that there is no justification for what happened and let the disciplinary process play out.
The Springboks have been magnificent this year, and have an 86 per cent win record. They scored a massive 81 tries this season and are a few miles ahead of the chasing pack. They deserve to be hailed as one of the best Bok sides in history.
Wiese and Etzebeth’s red cards are a stain on their record, and could have been avoided. They shouldn’t be excused and took the shine off some memorable wins. On Saturday the Boks handed Wales their worst ever home defeat but all people were talking about was Etzebeth.
The Bok badge deserves better than that.