Ken Borland

The Canterbury Crusaders have been cleared off all charges of eye-gouging by SuperRugby ruling body Sanzar following the issuing of two white cards against them after allegations made by the Northern Bulls in their match at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

Although there has been no official word from Sanzar, Bulls spokesman Ian Schwartz issued a statement on the franchise’s website on Monday saying “no evidence of eye-gouging was found by Sanzar’s judiciary system”.

According to the statement, no evidence was found by citing commissioner Freek Burger by analysing various video replays of the two incidents in which Bulls hooker Chiliboy Ralepelle and lock Flip van der Merwe claimed they were fouled by the Crusaders.

Schwartz said there would be no apology by the Bulls, despite comments by Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder after the game that he expected an apology if the allegations were not proven.

“For them to suggest we must now apologise, just because there is no video evidence available, would mean we have lied. It is ridiculous to suggest that every time there is a citing and there is not enough evidence, the other team should apologise,” Schwartz said.

“The rules are clear and we applied them 100% correctly. We had the right to raise the matter with the referee and we accept the fact that there was no video evidence.

“I just want to say that our players’ integrity is just as important to us as the Crusaders’ players integrity is to them. I feel the players will not make unfounded accusations unless something has happened,” Schwartz added.

Canterbury Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder backed his team against charges of eye-gouging against the Northern Bulls during their 32-30 SuperRugby loss at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, saying he was concerned the new white card system could be manipulated by teams.
South African referee Jaco Peyper issued two white cards against the Crusaders after Bulls hooker Chiliboy Ralepelle, on the stroke of half-time, and eighthman and captain Pierre Spies, on behalf of lock Flip van der Merwe from the second-half kick-off, made allegations of eye-gouging at rucks.
Sanzar, SuperRugby’s ruling body, introduced the use of white cards this season for when referees suspect foul play but have not seen the incident or are unsure of the culprit. The card alerts the citing commissioner to view television replays of the incident and check whether it requires judicial action.
“Personally, I’m bemused. If the allegations made are shown to be false then I expect an apology because they’re pretty serious allegations and otherwise anyone can make allegations and we’ll have white cards all over the place. I’m not sure the system is designed for that,” Blackadder told a news conference after the game.
“There’s a process in place, but I would be very disappointed if the allegations are shown to be true. I know my players well, they’re guys of character and there’s no way they would do that [eye-gouge]. I’ll be interested in the outcome.”
The former Canterbury captain, who led his team to a hat-trick of Sanzar titles between 1998 and 2000, said he was proud of his team’s fightback after they had trailed 16-32 with just seven minutes remaining.
“We were right there at the end and I was really pleased by the fightback and we’ve gained a lot of self-belief here. We took a point from the game, there was a huge improvement and we’re back on track,” Blackadder said.

The former All Black captain bemoaned a lack of direct running, especially in the first half, when the Crusaders allowed the Bulls to claw their way back to 9-13 at the break, after the visitors had led 10-0 after 13 minutes.

“We played too far behind the advantage line, we attacked from far to deep. We moved the ball side-to-side and we did not engage the defence enough. When we fought back, that’s what we tried to do in the first half,” Blackadder said.

Spies said the Bulls had shrugged off the incidents.

“It’s just something that happens sometimes in the game and it’s in the hands of the referee and the judicial officers. We just stayed focused and as disciplined as possible, we wanted to keep the penalty count as low as possible,” Spies said.

Bulls coach Frans Ludeke said eye-gouging had no place in the game and he would be upset if the allegations were proven.

“There’s no place for foul play and silly incidents like that. There will be a review and there may be nothing, but it’s not part of the game. No-one wants to see that sort of thing.

“It’s tough to say what happened, but we’ll leave it for the judicial officers, they specialise in that,” Ludeke said.

The coach praised a top-class kicking performance by flyhalf Morne Steyn, who succeeded with eight out of 10 shots at goal for a tally of 22 points, for securing a crucial win for the Bulls, after the Stormers had opened up a sizeable lead in the South African Conference with a 21-6 victory over a strong Otago Highlanders team in Dunedin earlier on Saturday.

“It was a vital win for us and Morne’s kicks just before half-time and soon afterwards were the turning point for us. It gave us a positive mindset and the momentum for that opening try. We had good moments in the last 10 minutes of the first half and that’s when the momentum changed,” Ludeke said.

The penalty just after half-time closed the gap to 12-13, after which the Bulls scored two tries and Steyn added both the conversions and two penalties to put the home side in the driving seat.

The Canterbury Crusaders wasted the early advantage and were then accused of two counts of eye-gouging by the Northern Bulls as the New Zealanders were beaten 32-30 (half-time 9-13) by the South African team in their SuperRugby match at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

South African Jaco Peyper issued white cards for further consideration of television evidence by the citing commissioner, after Bulls hooker Chiliboy Ralepelle and eighthman and captain Pierre Spies approached the referee and accused the Crusaders of eye-gouging them in the ruck in the 40th and 41st minutes respectively.

The Bulls won penalties for other ruck offences at the same time, with flyhalf Morne Steyn kicking both to bring the home side to within a point of the Crusaders (13-12).

The Crusaders had dominated the early stages of the match as they raced into a 10-0 lead in the first 13 minutes.

A crunching tackle by centre Ryan Crotty set up a penalty for the Crusaders, who kicked the ball to touch, won the lineout and then had captain and eighthman Kieran Read crashing through on a terrific angle to score the opening try, which was converted by flyhalf Dan Carter.

Carter then added a penalty after Crotty’s wonderful offload to fullback Israel Dagg, keeping the centre company on his shoulder, had taken the Crusaders back into Bulls’ territory.

Steyn kicked penalties in the 17th and 23rd minutes to cut the deficit to 10-6. Carter replied with a drop goal and missed a 28th-minute penalty, before Ralepelle stole the ball at a ruck and earned the Springbok flyhalf his third successful shot at goal, and then made the first startling allegation of eye-gouging.

Spies added to the drama straight after the kickoff when he complained of the same offence, with Steyn kicking a penalty for hands in the ruck to close the gap to 13-12.

The Bulls then surged into the lead in the 44th minute when, after a period of driving play by the forwards, flank CJ Stander burst clear and offloaded to loosehead prop Dean Greyling, who threw an outrageous dummy before charging to the tryline. Steyn converted to give the three-time champions a 19-13 lead.

Replacement centre Tom Taylor and Steyn exchanged penalties before the Bulls opened up a 32-16 lead with nine minutes remaining thanks to another penalty by Steyn and a try by centre Wynand Olivier, who was able to dot down the bouncing ball in the in-goal area after Dagg had failed to clear a Steyn chip-through, trying to kick the ball instead of falling on it.

The desperate Crusaders held sway in the last seven minutes as wing Sean Maitland’s weaving run pulled apart the Bulls’ defence and his fellow wing Zac Guildford showed good hands to take the try-scoring pass. Carter’s conversion closed the gap to 23-32.

Steyn then missed a penalty and Taylor had a try disallowed due to obstruction by Carter, but it had little influence as replacement fullback Tom Marshall burst through to score for the Crusaders immediately afterwards.

Carter converted but was left to rue his 64th-minute penalty miss from the middle of the field.

The Bulls defended stoutly in the closing moments to hold off the seven-time champions and record their fourth victory in six games, which moves them to fourth on the overall standings, four points behind fellow-South African Conference members and early pace-setters, the Stormers.

The Crusaders’ losing bonus point takes them to 19 points, seventh overall and seven points behind New Zealand Conference leaders, the Waikato Chiefs, who are second overall.

Scorers

Bulls – Tries: Dean Greyling, Wynand Olivier. Conversions: Morne Steyn (2). Penalties: Steyn (6).

Crusaders – Tries: Kieran Read, Zac Guildford, Tom Marshall. Conversions: Dan Carter (3). Penalties: Carter, Tom Taylor. Drop goal: Carter.

They say international sportsmen never lose the desire to go out there and play, and this must be especially true in the case of Victor Matfield who played 110 Tests for South Africa.
The lock retired at the end of last year’s World Cup and is now a forwards consultant with the Bulls, the team he led to three SuperRugby titles, as well as working as an analyst for broadcasters SuperSport.
“The change has been a bit different, and I’d be lying to you if I said I didn’t miss playing,” Matfield told Midi Olympique.
The 34-year-old was a highly-respected man in rugby circles because of his astute reading of the game and, in particular, his mastery of the lineout that gave the Springboks the most feared set-piece in the world. Thanks to Matfield, South Africa were able to build an entire game plan around their lineout.
And it is Matfield who the new generation of Springbok locks – Andries Bekker, Flip van der Merwe, Eben Etzebeth and Juandre Kruger – will be looking up to for advice.
New Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer worked closely with Matfield at the Bulls and there is little doubt he will call his former captain in on a consultancy basis.
“I’ve always loved the game and I want to stay in the game, so coaching is obviously something I’m looking at seriously. The people I’m working with are the same people I’ve played with for the last four or five years and I know them very well.
“The Bulls job is working in almost the same way as when I was playing – I chat with the guys and then we come to a decision about what we’ll do. I’m just doing the chatting in an office now!” Matfield said.
Matfield ran the Springbok lineout for so long and he was pitch-side for SuperSport last weekend when the Bulls and the Stormers clashed in a massive SuperRugby derby that would determine first place in the conference.
The Stormers triumphed 20-17 in an epic battle and both lineouts impressed Matfield.
“Their lineout is one of the Stormers’ big weapons, but if you look at the stats so far this season, I think the Bulls have done better. In Juandre they have someone who really understands the lineout and manages it well. Both teams have five jumpers, and it’s a big challenge to everyone to counter their lineouts.”
So it seems there is a steady flow of locks waiting to replace a big hole in the Springbok second row left by Matfield’s retirement and Bakkies Botha’s move to Toulon.
Matfield, of course, helped Toulon to a promotion in 2008 and he believes his old mate Bakkies and the club are a perfect fit – a top-class forward going to a top-class club.
“The whole town gets behind the team and there is a tradition that the pack does not stand back for anyone. They need to dominate their opponents and Bakkies will definitely bulk up their pack.
“Their president, Mourad Boudjellal, is also a great guy, he really loves the game and the team.”
Matfield believes Boudjellal, who has been criticised for being too closely involved with the team, is busy baking up something special with Toulon.
“I think he wants to do something huge with Toulon. He’s very passionate, he’s poured his own money into the club and I think it’s great that he’s in the forefront. He’s got the team up in the first division and they might even push for the title this year. They’re also looking at a Heineken Cup place,” Matfield said.
There have been jokes suggesting Matfield will be lonely now that his long-time second-row partner Botha has gone to France, but the former captain said Bakkies is apparently having a great time in France.
“It sounds like Bakkies is really enjoying himself, he and Carl Hayman are cycling together to training and they both like the outdoors. I just told him that he must work on his French because he won’t hear a lot of English!” Matfield said.
Nowadays, mountain bike racing provides a salve for the absence of tough physical contact for Matfield, who does, however, still jump (and often beat) the Bulls locks in lineout training.
Matfield is just one of several Springboks who will no longer be wearing the Green and Gold this year, but his presence on the sideline should solve many of the problems Meyer will have in putting a new generation of stars together.
“If we left and that culture wasn’t instilled in the younger generation, we would not have done our job, so we believe we transferred that same work ethic and really caring and playing for each other. It is looking good at the moment,” Matfield said.