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Faf de Klerk has broken his silence about being on the receiving end of X-rated Jake Ball tackle
World Cup-winning Springboks scrum-half Faf de Klerk has broken his silence over the crunching tackle to his head from Jake Ball during last Sunday’s Heineken Champions Cup round of 16 win by Sale at Scarlets. Ball made contact with de Klerk’s head when clearing out at a ruck, an incident that even veteran referee Nigel Owens suggested on social media could have merited a red card.
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Ball’s intervention went unpunished and what made the incident at Llanelli all the more bizarre was how the illegality of the tackle wasn’t even noticed by match referee Mathieu Raynal and TMO Philippe Bonhoure when they reviewed the clash, the officials checking instead whether Ball was offside when he launched himself at de Klerk.
The incident attracted much commentary on social media, with Owens twice tweeting about it. “It doesn’t look good from that angle but would need to see the other angle to see if contact with head and legality of the tackle. Was it not looked at by the officials?” said the veteran referee before adding a second tweet: “If contact with head then it should be RC irrelevant if ball is out or not.”
Now de Klerk has had his say on the X-rated incident, the Sale scrum-half appearing on this week’s Rugby Pod show with Andy Goode and Jim Hamilton where he was immediately quizzed about the much-talked-about collision. “All good, it’s fine,” said de Klerk. “It was a bit of a rugby incident but no hard feelings at all.
“I don’t have any issues with him, but he [Ball] might have an issue with me. We did have a chat after the game and I don’t think there is any animosity but that is how the game goes.
Awesome to have World Cup Winner and the best lid in rugby @fafdeklerk on the Pod this week to chat @Springboks & @SaleSharksRugby. What a gent.
w/ @AndyGoode10 @jimhamilton4 @AndyRoweOnline
Have a listen: https://t.co/oEc0sQN4br
— The Rugby Pod (@TheRugbyPod) April 7, 2021
“He was trying to get their team on the go and that is one way of doing it, to spoil the ruck for us and to stop us getting quick ball. It just happened. Afterwards, when I looked at it it was maybe a bit more serious than I had initially thought but hopefully there is no animosity and we can get along playing again.
“According to me, if the ref calls ‘ball out’ the guys can have a go at the ball but you can’t play the player. So that was what I asking about. I was fine if he said the ball was out, then you can have a go at the ball but I’m pretty sure you can’t have a go at the player, so that was my initial thought of it.
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“If I had lifted the ball fair play he could have tackled me, but that was what I was just asking. I wasn’t even sure of the head contact. After I saw it on the replay that is when I thought maybe there is something more to this but the ref cleared it and we had to play on.”
England assistant Matt Proudfoot turned up at Sale training on Tuesday on a summer tour recce #LARvSALhttps://t.co/eHJJrhbWHu
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) April 7, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
A lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
3 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
1 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
2 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
2 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
3 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
2 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
4 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
21 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
21 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to commentsMake what step up? Manie has a World Cup winner’s medal around his neck and changed the way the Springboks can play. He doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. The win record of the Boks with him in the team is tremendous. Sacha can be wonderful and I hope he has a very succesful Bok career, but comparing him to Manie in terms of the next Bok flyhalf is very strange. Manie is the incumbent (not the next) and doing pretty incredibly.
4 Go to comments