New Zealand rugby referee Paddy O’Brien has leapt to South Africa’s defence, rubbishing suggestions they are a ”dirty” team.
Australian coach Eddie Jones declared the Springboks a disgrace and said they deliberately pursued dirty tactics in his team’s 29-9 win in Brisbane last Saturday.
That test was refereed by O’Brien.
Springboks lock Bakkies Botha was later banned for eight weeks and prop Robbie Kempson for four weeks for off-the-ball incidents in the Tri-Nations match.
Botha was found guilty of attacking Wallabies hooker Brendan Cannon in the face and Kempson was suspended for a high and late tackle on No. 8 Toutai Kefu.
South African captain Corne Krige was also accused of spitting at Australian players.
O’Brien, New Zealand’s most experienced test referee with 28 internationals, said the test was ”no different”’ than any other for its physical nature.
He said he saw none of the biting, eye-gouging or spitting alleged by Jones.
”I just get wary of the beat-up that they’re a dirty team because that’s not my view of it,”1 O’Brien said.
”They are just another team in international rugby. They had two incidents in this game, which were dealt with by the judiciary, but as a team I don’t consider them to be a dirty team.”
O’Brien said the only on-field complaint he received came from the Wallabies about Cannon, who claimed to have been eye-gouged.
”It was tight and physical but I never thought the game was getting ugly or anything like that,” he said.
South Africa plays New Zealand in a Tri-Nations test in Dunedin on Saturday night. – Sapa-NZPA