Below is the footage of why Springbok second row, Bakkies Botha was cited, and subsequently banned for 2 weeks. Watch the footage, you be the judge.
I feel that it’s and absolute joke. Botha goes in to clear the ruck, staying on his feet. There really isn’t much in it. Certainly not enough to condone any kind of ban.
As I did in my previous post about how the international citing process is FAIL-ing us, I refer to the IRB laws of the game:
Law 10.4 (g) states: Dangerous charging, A player must not charge or knock down an opponent carrying the ball without trying to grasp that player.Adam Jones was not carrying the ball, so the law that Bakkies Botha was cited for infringing upon is wrong in the 1st place. There is nothing more in it than a standard ruck clearance. Much like any the B&I Lions handed out during the test match.
It is unfortunate that Adam Jones got injured, but it’s just one of those incidents where contact was made at a place, at an angle and at a time that caused an unfortunate injury. The fact that Jones was injured should not justify Bakkies Botha being cited for no apparent reason. Rugby is a contact sport, and sometimes injuries occur for what doesn’t appear to be so bad.
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