Former Springbok lock Kobus Wiese says he did not mind getting punched by opposite number Ian Jones at the end of the 1995 World Cup final.
The incident was spotted by photographer Thys Lombard during the final scrum just before the ball was kicked into touch and the final whistle blew at Ellis Park.
In the incident, former All Blacks lock Jones swings a fist and connects with Wiese’s head as the scrum begins to disintegrate.
Watch: The unknown punch on Wiese
Wiese spoke about the incident in an interview with Jacques Henning, who goes by handle The Yellow Cap on Twitter.
‘It’s part of the game,’ he said. ‘You remember the [former Bok prop] Johan le Roux incident in New Zealand with [All Blacks hooker] Sean Fitzpatrick [in 1994] when unfortunately they didn’t feed Johan well enough so he nibbled on Sean’s ear. People saw it differently unfortunately and “Joe” was suspended for a couple of weeks.
‘Joe was also playing [with me] for Transvaal – the Lions. He was one of the hard men of rugby, he could take it on the chin and also dish it out. He’s also a great guy and a really good person.
‘I promised Joe that if there was ever a chance for payback, one of us – his teammates – would oblige. And we’ll leave that there for technical and legal reasons!
‘In that last scrum, we paid back the dues for Joe and clearly Jonesy was a bit frustrated as well because he knew it was all over and he started punching.
‘But I didn’t mind, I took it on the chin, because we had paid back the favour and it was all in good spirit. We had a cold one – a lemonade – afterwards and we are friends to this day.’
Photo: Gallo Images
