Springbok coach Peter de Villiers on Monday criticised the role of television producers in the citing and subsequent suspension of Bakkies Botha.
Here’s the dreaded video material:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-DQ29ycLkU[/youtube]
The topic of Botha, banned for nine weeks for headbutting All Blacks scrumhalf Jimmy Cowan in the opening minute of the test in Auckland, inevitably came up in Monday’s press conference with De Villiers and he raised the subject of television’s influence in the judicial process.
“Television played the replay over and over again, TV basically took over. They have too much influence. No one saw how Bakkies was pulled back by Cowan just before the incident. If TV had been more just and honest, then it would have been a penalty before and nothing else would have happened,” De Villiers said.
It was obvious trouble lay in store for Botha when three replays of the incident were shown on the Eden Park big screens moments after his tussle with Cowan. But the preceding offence when the scrumhalf grabbed the lock’s shorts and prevented him from chasing the kick he had just charged down was not shown again at all.
The fact is, the host broadcaster’s producer has the power to decide what gets replayed and what does not, thereby having a powerful say in what is brought to the citing commissioner’s attention and what is not.
De Villiers stressed that he was not in any way condoning what Botha did.
“It was not the right thing that he did, but there was provocation. And then to see that replayed over and over again, no one understands how that affects the players,” he said, referring to a strangely subdued display by the Springboks when it came to the physical clashes at the breakdowns, collisions and the tackle.
De Villiers was asked by a New Zealand journalist whether Botha’s latest trouble with the law made it impossible for him to be chosen for the Springboks again.
“If I had to fire you everytime you did something wrong, you would never have a job. If the shoe fits then you must wear it … If you do a few wrong things, it doesn’t make you a criminal,” the coach growled.
While Botha basically dug his own grave when he decided to scone Cowan from behind in open play, the length of his sentence was negatively affected by some injustice from the past.
When the Bok enforcer was unjustly suspended for two weeks during last year’s British and Irish Lions series for a “reckless charge” into a ruck that was subsequently shown to be perfectly legal, one of the main concerns was that it would stand against him when he offended again.
But this latest suspension is the 30-year-old’s third in little more than a year and the Springbok management should perhaps consider sending Botha to anger management classes or some sort of life skills programme along the lines of that which former Springbok captain Morne du Plessis mentored cricketer Herschelle Gibbs in.
This incident divided a lot of South African supporters. On the one hand the camp that made up their mind that Bakkies is a thug. The other side is the old hard , mostly ex-players who had the chance to settle their fights in a match without the spotlight of the Television cameras.
The thug group had the easy road, the evidence is overwhelming, no one can argue against that stupid head butt in the open by Bakkies.
The hard play group , and yes there is a lot feels that Rugby is slowly made a soft game. Think about it how many of us have sneaked in a punch or two in the game. That was always part of the game. This is not only my view read what other rugby supporters had to say about this article on Supersport-
The hell with all of you calling Bakkies “dirty”! You’re the same sissies the All Blacks have degenerated into. Bakkies is an old-school, real rugby player who very rarely actually breaks the law. Problem is you have marketing experts running the game now who just want to present a clean image of rugby and the old-school Bakkies does not fit into their Hyundai 3D HDTV nufan-friendly image. This is a conspiracy to remove him from the game!
It annoys me to see people commenting that Bakkies should never play for the boks again. None of you have ever been in his situation. The adrenalin and emotions of a rugby game runs to a persons head in the moment. I don’t, for a moment suggest his actions are excusable or unpunishable, but I think an analagy is necessary. Think of every time you have become angry in traffic and threatened terrible drivers or taxi’s from your car suggesting what you would do if you had the chance. Bakkies was provoked and reacted which he shouldn’t have done, but he’s stil a great player, wonderful person and deserves another chance in the SA side.
Lets be honest here what bakkies did was a huge mistake, however south african players always fall victim to the tv broad casters and especially we seem to be penalized alot more and harshly by the IRB disciplinary committee than any other countries. Bakkies still has the talent to be a bok, and his rough style has worked for him over his career, he makes a big difference when he plays well, except when he takes it too far as he did in this last game. How ever I think he needs to remain in the squad because he is a leader along with the other senior players like victor, dupree etc and even if he doesnt play he provides a physiological boost to the other players. I think its also worth taking a look how the ref didnt see what bakkies did untill he saw the replay and then gave bakkies a yellow when clearly it should have been a penalty, clearly the tv replay has a big influence on the ref.
Not all that long ago Schalk Burger was a victim of the oversees broadcasters and got sighted and banned left right and center, now they are all gunning Bakkies, sure, head butting is not on, but somethings need serious changing in the world of rugby as well! The citing commissioners should all be neutral to begin with, this is not the first time our players have received extremely harsh bans to begin with, whilst the opposition receive half the time for similar incidents.
To refer Bakkies previous incidents is also not entirely right, especially considering the chap whose collar bone he broke in the Lions tour admitted afterwards he saw nothing wrong with what Bakkies did to begin with, make one think a bit??? Yet some foreign commissioner went and banned him there and now that is part of what continuously follows him around.
Nice break for Bakkies now, maybe a good thing with the world cup in mind, he will be a lot fresher than some other players!
It is clear from my posting this article that i am not off the opinion that Bakkies is a thug. This type of regsien was always part of the game. We had articles HERE about the tricks of the trade by front rows etc. If it was not for TV that incident would never have reached the newspapers. I bet there is not a single photo taken of that incident. It happened fast and no harm was done to Cowan.
Yes to the clean image of rugby yes. In NZ they wonder why the kids are persuaded by their parents to play soccer. Well TV can take some blame, by highlighting the incident and blow it up to that proportion it will harm the perception of the game just as much as Bakkies Bothas act did. If the All Blacks lost this game the damage would have been even more.
All i say is keep rugby hard, let us punish dirty play like this but PLEASE do not make the game soft. And to Supersport please concentrate on the game and do not go the route of New Zealand Television.
Let our lasting memory be the 4 good tries the All Blacks scored and not the ugly incidents.
Hello Superbul. Well said. What really hacks me off is the poll on Sport24.
He who has never reacted when provoked cast the first stone. I am waiting.
“I hit him,” says the All Black fullback, McCormick. “Of course, I never intended to knock his teeth out. But the situation was very dangerous. Nomis had to be stopped. I might even have gone as far as foot-trip him. As it was I copped him, accidentally, I might say, with my left elbow – right on the point of it.”
McCormick does not excuse his action. In fact, to be frank, I do not think there is any ground for excusing it.
This is a extract from the latest McLook article, just above this one. We know they try and wipe out foul play but is one wants to brandish Bakkies as a thug then many older Springbok hero,s will lose their status. This was always part of rugby. And I really wish that we never get to a point where the divers like in soccer milk penalties. I hate the handbag stuff, let them penalize the instigators or leave the tugged player to sort him out.
2
what hacks me off more is the o so holy supporters , they wish Bakkies is banned so he can get out of their softies faces. We need enforcers , we also need fetchers working on the edge
Bakkies could have been sent off in the first minute with a red card, and then we would have lost that game 50+. He needs to man up and understand that his obvious temperament is costing the bokke.
Many a blogger here has said that Kockett should not be selected for the boks because he is a hothead and short fused, and like to take his revenge on the field, so what is the difference with Bakkies then?
Same with Butch James, his temperament is slained in Bull country.
It’s not about what was allowed 30 years ago in Rugby, the game has gone proffesional and the players should therefore act in a proffesional way. Bakkies has shown that he is unable to cope provocation and handle himself in a proffesional way, and his next red card may just come in the final of the world cup…………
thanks super
i’m with you on this one
…
the replay EVEN INFLUENCED THE ONFIELD OFFICIALS!!
first offence in our own 22
and
out come the yellow card!!
no
warning
no
talking to the captain
just
yellow!!
#6
shouldve been
“i’m with you on #1”!!!!
just a thought
why are we south africans always so worried about what “the world think of us”?
eg
when we won the rights to host the soccer wc
most
guys went “it will be a failure and THEN THE WORLD WILL LAUGH AT US”!!
..
now with bakkies its “NO WONDER EVERYONE THINK OF US AS THUGS”!!
…
my opinion? fuck the rest of the world. i dont tell them how to play their game!! who the fuck are they to come and tell me how to play mine?
the FACT is that we need guys like bakkies in our team cause thats the only way we can play the game …. no, i dont mean headbutting everyone, but being physical, in our opponents faces, forcing thm to buckle under relentless pressure!!
There is a difference between being an enforcer and being a serial offender and ill-diciplined player….
Guys, the facts are simple.
We all know our players cop more criticism and citations than most. all the more reason then to be careful of your actions on the field.
I had no problem with how Bakkies cleared the ruck, every one does that. But this guy has been cited and banned so many times in the last year, the question is why?
If there are underlying problems personal or what ever it needs to be sorted.
This knid of behoviour isn’t acceptable, you can’t head butt someone because you feel hard done by. You are in a foreign land, being watched for situations like that, of course they are going to show this over and over again.
So as much as I want Bakkies in the Springbok team, he needs to wake up and realise he is putting the burden of his misbehaviour on his team.
gbs @ 9
serial offender in what sense?
since the british and irish lions?
that f*** up by the IRB is now haunting one of our best players!!
I played rugby for almost 20 years, Every game in the front row [unless you count the game when I was pissed and played on the wing in an Inter-Varsity Koshuis Game]. For 6 of those years I played as an English speaking person in the Freestate, I often had a few klaps for being a Soutpiel. I was no angel myself, often having to get by retaliation in first.Punching, rucking, shoulder charges were all part of the game.
In all the games that I played, I never head butted an opponent from behind, or bit someone, or eye gouged.
Hard men, like Andre Venter, Juan Smith, Zinzan Brooke, Martin Johnson, Ulli Schmidt, Mark Andrews would punch and be punched. Did you ever see them head butt someone? Ok maybe, but from behind? Unlikely.
There can be no excuse for cowardice and filthy play.
I watched Bakkies on Superrugby last night and I believe that bhe is truely sorry for his cowardly head butt. He has accepted his ban, and will hopefully come back as a better cleaner player.
Seems like some here seems to think others don’t have the right to an opinion. Pitty really. No one wants this to turn into a soft game. What bakkies did cost us dearly. I for one don’t want to see him banned, but he needs to take a long hard look at himself and sort out his attitude. I’d rather see us complete the game with 15 men on the field and give our opponents a run for their money, rather than half the team being send of because of ill disipline.
And yes, I believe it’s important what the rest of the world thinks of us. You want teams and their supporters to respect you not only for your talent, but also your sportmanship. If you can’t do this, then you just look like the schoolyard bullies that resort to voilence in order to get things done their way.
The problem here is that the Bokke started the Test reasonably well (first 6 or 7 minutes), then the All Blacks came with a ferrocious onslaught, Bakkies was yellowed and suddenly the All Blacks managed to rack up 10 points in his absence….. that swung the momentum for the rest of what followed, brimming the All Black confidence and making the Bokke more desperate having to come from behind.
Had we not given the All Blacks that 10 point lead, the dynamics of the match might have been radically different…. we might still have lost, with the All Blacks in sublime form, but I doubt we would have conceded a bonus point to the All Blacks for tries and the winning margin would have been smaller.
Ill dicipline costs a team, there’s no getting around that, as was all so evident early in the Super 14 season at the Sharks too when both Du Plessis brothers cost their team dearly…. and dramatically affecting their semi-chances.
Yes, you must be hard and physical, yes sometimes a fetcher like Brussow or McCaw or Stegmann MUST push the boundaries on the ground ball… but that is clearly distinctive from stupid and illegal play.
Superbul, you’re not making sense to me.
Nobody here has ever tried to make a case for taking the “hard” out of rugby. What Bakkies did was clearly against the letter of the laws of rugby as well as the spirit of the game. Or are you now saying that headbutting a guy from behind is in the spirit of the game and can be condoned in certain circumstances?
What has struck me is that Bakkies that great Intimidator, has allowed a little tug from a little scrumhalf intimidate him to such an extent that he lost all self control and let himself, his teammates and his country down.
Let’s not get side-tracked by the “making rugby hard/soft”, “Saffers are always pulling the short end of the citing stick” or any other such debates. We all knew in that moment that we saw Bakkies’s headbutt that he had screwed-up.
The only good thing about this whole sad episode is that Bakkies would also have recognised his mistake immediately….
bos_et agge ek mean bos_otter @ 13
😀 if you’re refering to #8, well it wasnt aimed at anyone in particular
just a bit of “getting it off my chest”
as i’ve said earlier already, bakkies was stupid
i’m just of the opinion that he’s apologised … so everyone should just move on!!
@ Ashley:
Ash…it’s not a problem mate, I noticed the “just a thought” in you post, so it wasn’t directed at you even though I did mention that I believe it’s important what the rest of the world thinks of us.It’s one thing playing local rugby the hard and lekker way, but a whole different beast playing internationals where your your performance are up for display to the whole world. There has always been a huge amount of respect between the All Blacks and the Boks,both playing a very physical game which is the reason why rugby supporters all over the globe will tune in to watch the game.
bos_otter @ 17
no problems there mate
…
lol, think the two of us are doing a bit of ….
You say “either” and I say “either”
You say “neither” I say “neither”
“Either” “either”, “neither” “neither”
Let’s call the whole thing off 😆
About 5 minutes after the incident and before he was sent off, no one mentions Bakkies handing off one of their locks and then it took 3 of their players to bring him down when he was sprinting down field with the ball tucked under his arm and when he dropped, he placed the ball better than most players in world rugby…this is why these pricks want him to not play, he causes havoc in their ranks. What he did was stupid, he should have waited for the appropriate moment. You can be sure that the next time Cowan plays against the Boks again, he will be told “dont pull our jerseys” and several of our players will hit him throughout the game, to remind him not to be a doos and take liberties against the Boks. The ref wont see it and jungle justice will prevail…and long may it last, one of our players doing what Cowan did would deserve the same treatment. I always remember Skinner the Irish scrummie who used to like breaking on the short side. The first time he did it in this particular game against the Boks, Bakkies had been briefed and nailed him with a Bakkies tackle and then rubbed his face in the dirt when Skinner and the ball were out of play and said “every time you do that today I will be waiting for your”…Skinner ran to the ref and said “did you see that, did you see that” the ref said “yes” Skinner said….well what are you going to do about it” and the ref said “I’m going to suggest you dont take the short side”….now thats how the game should be played and Bakkies didnt head butt him, in fact I do not recall Bakkies ever head butting anyone before….I used to head butt at least 3 players a game in the 70’s….totally unintentional of course and we all enjoyed a beer together afterwards as they did the same to me!!!
Was it a full blown head butt or just a soft one to tell hey watch it? Any clips available.
Brendon Nell of Supersport said this-
Don’t get me wrong, this is not a column defending Botha’s actions. While I do agree that New Zealand television purposely looks for incidents on a rugby field to target opposition teams – I’ve seen enough of these over the years to convince me of that before Botha’s indiscretion – the reality is that provocation is never a defence in rugby.
The game itself is provocative, and Botha was one of the best players in provoking reaction on a rugby field. No, his actions were stupid, defenceless and cost his team plenty. However, he has got what he deserved and we need to move on. Blaming Bakkies isn’t going to solve everything.
20@ superBul:
Massive blatant head butt from behind… no doubt whatsoever!
I’ve put the one Youtube clip up at the top of the Article!
@ grootblousmile:
Die eerste view wys hy het hom skrams gevang. Ek probeer nie bewys dit was nie ernstig nie maar dit was gelukig vir Cowan nie flush nie. Dink hy sou nie opgestaan het nie as dit n kolskoot was nie.
Soos 4man vroeer gese het hy was net te haastig met sy revenge. Maar ek dink dat Bakkies al met die Haka besluit het die moer steek nie sy tong so lank vir my uit nie. 😆
Ek dink ons moet a aksie begin om die provocative Haka n issue te maak, ons eie TV payback. Die Suid Afrikaners wil tog nou so alte heilig en korrek wees , hulle loop oor ons.
23@ superBul:
Bakkies was fokken stupid, end van die prent!
“God will lift you again and you will be an ambassador for Him. Now you have to hold your head high and look forward, my child.”
Those were the comforting words that Mrs Ria Botha left on Beeld’s website about Springbok lock Bakkies Botha on Tuesday. She writes that she is Bakkies’ mom, but did not respond to messages to confirm it.
She wrote that she is proud of her son’s statement on Super Rugby.
Botha apologised in tears on the rugby chat programme for the weekend’s headbutting incident, but considering some of the comments on websites, he should not expect forgiveness too soon from South African fans.
Many angry Bok supporters believe Botha should not wear the Green-and-Gold again any time soon.
Mrs Botha thanked coach Peter de Villiers, supporters and friends that are standing by him and see him for the person he is”.
“Our God is almighty, my son. All the ugly things that have been said about you have been cancelled out. Fortunately rugby is not god in our home.”
De Villiers stood up for Botha on Monday and said that he was not a rugby thug.
Former Springbok lock Kobus Wiese, who also had a reputation for robust play, said it was an over-emotional reaction by people to say that Botha should never be picked again.
“Bakkies knows he was wrong. He has been suspended and apologised and now has to work at it. I would pick him for the Boks again at any time.”
Wiese said he was also provoked in his career.
“It has always been part of the game and a guy like Schalk Burger has also been a target.”
Former Springbok captain Corné Krige, who was also involved in a few controversial incidents, said that he could understand that supporters were upset, but felt some of the criticism was not justified.
Krige was suspended for eight weeks in 2004 after headbutting an opponent twice.
“When I saw the incident on Saturday, I told my wife: ‘look at the stupid thing that Bakkies has done now’. She laughed and said that people used to say the same about me. Unfortunately things that happen in the heat of battle look very bad on TV.
“My experience was that certain players are targeted. Bakkies’ opponents know that he has a short fuse and try to exploit that.”
Krige said that Botha was “extremely valuable” and is a “must” for the Springboks.
superBul wrote:
Must say I have difficulty with this one. Is she implying that Bakkies is being vindicated by the media and public and that he is really inonocent and therfore God will lift and reward him because he is a christain (and the others per implication not). Or is she saying that because Bakkies is a christian whatever he does is good and everyone that is agianst him is against God? Or is she saying God will lift you no matter what you did because HE always forgives his children; so per implication do what you want just keep asking forgiveness. Sorry I just don’t get this. I know she is trying to comfort him but she is sending the wrong message; she is creating or enforcing a view about God and ethical behaviour that off her own and which is not in accordance how most people read the situation. Maybe they just talk in special God speak but I just don’t get it and maybe it is soemething that eed to be done in private on the telephone or at home and not on a public accessible website.
McLook.
There are no big analasys to be done.
Yes He will always forgive you if you are one of His children.
Bakkies apologised and will be forgiven. Will still serve his ban.
End of story. Really don’t know what you are on about.
#27
thanks blouste
mclook @ 26
i would think those two sentences are quite straightforward wont you say? unless of course you want to see problems with it?
anyway guys, please remember the rules of this site!
i (and i think quite a few others) would prefer that this (posts 26, 27, 28) do not turn into a debate. it started off innocently, but can turn quite ugly!
@ Ashley:
I wonder how big Bakkies’s mom is?
Beeg, very beeg… 😆
Users Online
Total 41 users including 0 member, 41 guests, 0 bot online
Most users ever online were 3735, on 31 August 2022 @ 6:23 pm
No Counter as from 31 October 2009: 39,570,196 Page Impressions
_