Africa-Press – South-Africa. Pegged back in their own territory for too long on the field and hammered by a disciplinary committee that has made a pig’s ear of their job in the boardroom, the Bulls flew home on Saturday night with what coach Johan Ackermann described as “a hollow feeling”.
It’s been a tough couple of days for the Bulls with frontrower Jan-Hendrik Wessels receiving a nine-match ban for an alleged groin grab that there is no video evidence of, and Glasgow Warriors then edging them 21-12 in their United Rugby Championship fixture.
Playing the 2023/24 champions at their Scotstoun Stadium fortress is always tough and, despite the disappointment of losing, the Bulls were competitive enough for there to be no panic over the defeat. A couple of better decisions at key times, both by the players and the officials, and the Bulls could well have won the match having led 12-7 going into the final quarter.
But the Wessels furore should cause great anxiety in the URC offices. Their all-Welsh independent disciplinary committee of Declan Goodwin, Simon and Leah Thomas appear to have found the Springbok guilty of a serious offence but do not have any incriminating evidence to back up their decision, save for the word of the player who was originally red-carded for striking Wessels in the head, which goes against all the principles of natural justice.
Referee Mike Adamson and his fellow officials, including TMO Holly Davidson, thoroughly examined the footage but could find no evidence to back up Josh Murphy’s claims. The Connacht loose forward was rightly red-carded for what he claimed was retaliation. Astonishingly, because Murphy’s attack on Wessels’ face was clear and obvious, that red card was rescinded by the same disciplinary panel. Equally inexplicable was that the reason for exonerating Murphy was that “the act of foul play… did not meet the red card threshold”.
If the URC allow these deplorable rulings to stand then they have set precedents for players to be banned based merely on the claims of other players who are trying to get off their sentences, and for punches to the face to be acceptable on the rugby field, taking the sport back 50 years.
Ackermann confirmed on Saturday that “no other footage that he is aware of” was provided to the disciplinary panel, who seem to have over-ruled the match officials based on a combination of guesswork, gut feel and prejudice.
The stink around the process is only worsened by the unprecedented delay in getting a written judgment to the Bulls, which meant they were not able to appeal against the farcical ruling before the Glasgow game. Ackermann said he thought the appeal had now been made.
In terms of the arm-wrestle against Glasgow Warriors, Ackermann said he was heartened that, if a couple of moments had gone their way, they could have pulled off a notable victory.
“We felt very confident at halftime and in the first part of the second half. For me, Glasgow were not nine points better than us, the game was closer than the score. The penalty try was a big swing and we will get clarification on that. Francois Klopper was on his feet in the middle of the ruck, so that decision flabbergasted me.
“I begged Ruan Nortje to get clarification, but it seems the officials only go back for knock-ons. They’ve got all the technology but make penalty try calls on the spur of the moment, while they have got time to go back when we are lining up a kick.
“But we have lost the territory and possession battle three weeks in a row now. We kept giving Glasgow possession and they squeeze and squeeze you. There were definitely times when you need to decide whether to kick long, out or to get the ball back. You need to look for that kick-space and force the opposition to decide whether to defend the back space or come up.
“We struggled to get away from our territory, Glasgow had 70% territory and 60% possession, and we will look to get that balance right. If we can get the territory and possession right, then there are a lot of good things to come from this team. It will be frightening what we can do with 50/50 territory and possession,” Ackermann said.
For More News And Analysis About South-Africa Follow Africa-Press
