Cape Town — We must not shy away from what rugby is, and the sport should steer clear of going down soccer’s path. That was the view of Bulls hooker Bismarck du Plessis after his controversial yellow card in last weekend’s URC clash against Ulster in Belfast.
With the Bulls trying to chase a victory in the closing minutes, with the score at 29-23, they had a penalty overturned inside Ulster’s half following Du Plessis’ ruck clean-out of flyhalf Billy Burns.
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Referee Craig Evans didn’t see anything wrong with the Bulls replacement’s action initially, but after Burns went down and received treatment on his ribs, TMO Jon Mason intervened and asked Evans to have a look at the big screen.
The two match officials somehow concluded that Du Plessis had tucked his right shoulder and not wrapped his right arm around Burns — which was not clear and obvious from the TV replays — and sent the veteran front-rower off the field for the tense final moments.
Ulster won 32-23 in the end, and after initially not wanting to say too much on the sanction this week, Du Plessis expressed his reservations about the outcome.
“I must say, the changes in rules, I do understand. And I have young kids myself, and I do think we want to make it safer for each and every person to be able to play. But I do think we must also not shy away from what rugby is. Rugby is a contact sport … as our great coach (Peter de Villiers) said, ballet is also a contact sport!” the Bulls hooker said from France ahead of Sunday’s Champions Cup clash against Toulouse (4pm kick-off).
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“The big thing that we should get away from is where soccer is. If you’re not happy with a decision, you just lie on the ground for some time, and eventually they will go back to that. I just think we are treading in very fine waters to be able to go that route.
“My friends who I have seen here in France already say they play because you can be as physical as you want with each other, and afterwards, you’re friends and you have a cold one with a friend you’ve just played 80 minutes with.
“That’s a thing I always respected when playing against the All Blacks … We would go as hard as we can, within the rules, and then afterwards, I always had the chance to talk to them, and we are still in contact.
“I just think that we should get away from stuff that makes such a big difference in our sport. We should keep our sport the way it is and the way everybody likes it.
“I’ve never been somebody who looks at my own decisions, and how things are made while being a rugby player. When I’m retired, I will give you my full co-operation … my full heart of what I think about it. But at the moment, I can’t be talking about the officials.
“I think we should keep ourselves to the game on Sunday, rather than talk about officiating and the IRB rulings and stuff like that, because like I said, if you phone me in a few months’ time and I am on the farm with my kids, I will give you my 100% co-operation.”
Du Plessis, who will turn 39 in May, is well-placed to help the Bulls against Toulouse, having spent a number of years at French club Montpellier.
He felt that Jake White’s team took a few steps forward against Ulster — despite it being their eighth loss in a row across all competitions — and that the forwards must lead the way on Sunday.
“You can just see how the whole French team are playing at the moment … I think they must be favourites to win the World Cup at the end of the season, and there are 11 guys who have been playing constantly in their side,” Du Plessis said.
“It’s a great opportunity for the young guys. I have been young myself and played against many great players, and those are the games I cherish the most — to set myself a standard of how I can compete at the top of the rugby chain.
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“We’ve (forwards) been on the grind every time in the last few minutes, especially on the weekend. We had a penalty to be able to kick towards touch after we just had a 50m maul.
“I was really feeling positive, and they turned the penalty around … I think that was a big let-down for our whole team, especially the way we’ve been playing and defending at certain stages of the game.
“We were really on the mend, and we were feeling very good after the performance — not because of the result, but the performance. We were very happy about it.”
IOL Sport