Left field

Springbok coach Peter de Villiers has a hard enough time as it is trying to convince the South African media that he knows what he is talking about but his utterances on Schalk Burger have undermined any credibility he has earned from overseeing a series win over the British and Irish Lions.

Saturday’s decisive second test, won 28-25 by the Boks, was one of the most brutal seen for many years, both in terms of legal and illegal contact from both sides.

Five Lions players ended up in hospital while half a dozen Springboks were nursing injuries in the wake of the Loftus Versfeld battle.

Some of them came from legitimate hits or accidental collisions but several did not. Springboks Bakkies Botha and Burger were handed bans of two and eight weeks respectively late on Sunday, with Burger’s punishment for gouging the eyes of winger Luke Fitzgerald in the first minute the main talking point in the build-up to Saturday’s final test.

The flanker was winning his 50th cap having missed the first test through injury, and though he was yellow carded for the offence, many observers, including Lions coach Ian McGeechan, thought he should have seen red.

French referee Christophe Berdos did not see the incident but was alerted to it by one of his touch judges, who obviously did. The touch judge advised Berdos that the offence warranted a “minimum of a yellow card”.

For a referee who had not seen the offence, in the first minute of a massive test match, sending off a key player would have been a huge call and he was given an easy get-out clause by his assistant’s advice.

Straight after the game De Villiers said that such things were all part of the game and, having had time to think about it, he was in no mood to back down on Monday as he maintained his man was innocent despite the eight-hour disciplinary hearing.

“Schalk is an honourable man and if you know his nature and character like I do, then you know he won’t ever do something like that. He’s more physical than any other player in world rugby and he doesn’t need to do that sort of thing to show that he’s the boss.

“I have watched the TV footage of the incident and I am still convinced that he did not do anything on purpose, he never meant to go on the eye,” De Villiers told reporters.

“Even he was shocked when he saw the replays and I believe when we get the report from the judicial officer it won’t say anything about eye-gouging,” the coach added, despite his own union issuing a statement saying Burger had been found guilty of contact with the eye area.

“You need to understand very clearly that rugby is a contact sport…if you can’t take it and you want rugby to be soft then you must decide.”

Nobody wants soft rugby, quite the opposite. But what makes it such a great game is that there is a huge level of physicality and aggression allowed within the rules. When players go beyond them, particularly in such a harmful way like gouging, the danger levels become unacceptable and the punishments should reflect that.

Fitzgerald was lucky to escape serious damage and though Burger will now watch Saturday’s game from the stands, it will be little consolation to the Lions as they try to avoid a series whitewash.

PHOTO: Tommy Bowe of the British and Irish Lions (L) battles in the air with South Africa’s Schalk Burger (R) during the second rugby union test match in Pretoria, June 27, 2009. REUTERS/Rogan Ward