Sean Everitt and Jake White have shared their thoughts on the two contentious yellow cards issued by referee Marius van der Westhuizen in the clash between the Sharks and Vodacom Bulls on Saturday.
In this latest round of the Currie Cup, the Sharks toppled the previously unbeaten Bulls 32-29 in dramatic fashion at Kings Park after Morne Steyn missed what would have been a match-equaling penalty.
Earlier in the game, though, there were a couple of yellow cards sanctions, one either way, for two accidental heads collisions.
In the first instance, Sharks centre Marius Louw was sent off after he clattered into Steyn late resulting in a head to head clash between the pair. After the referee had consulted with the TMO to review the incident, Louw got his marching orders.
Louw was still serving his time in the sin bin, when Bulls prop Jacques van Rooyen was also sent off for a similar offence. Van Rooyen went in to tackle a Sharks player and their heads collided in the process, although it all appeared to be accidental.
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After the game, Everitt said that the issuing of those two yellow cards was probably a ‘fair’ call by the officials.
‘The yellow cards were unfortunate but I think they were the right decision,’ said Everitt. ‘We reviewed it, as did the TMO, and we felt that both of them were fair. I don’t think there was any harm in the tackles.
‘Thank goodness sanity prevailed and they remained [just] yellow cards so the game could go on as a fair contest.’
On his part, White explained that he was not in a position to say whether the calls were right or wrong because he hasn’t yet had the time to review the incidents properly.
‘It’s not for me to say whether it was right or wrong,’ White said. ‘It was a bit difficult [to judge] without a big screen and to get that detail because we also had a power cut.
‘We didn’t even get to see it [again] on our laptops. The referee and the TMO saw a view and I think we need to make sure we look after the players.
‘At the end of the day you read a lot of stuff in the media about head injuries and concussions. I’m sure that’s the brief from World Rugby. At the end of the day, we’ve got to make sure we stick to the rules.
‘I’m sure that’s going to be more difficult as rugby union develops. There’s a lot of talk about head injuries and concussions.’
Photo: Steve Haag/Gallo Images
