Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick addresses player suspensions and fairness in the game
Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick has indicated that both Franco Mostert and Lood de Jager will be available to face Ireland on Saturday, while revealing that Mostert will undergo a disciplinary hearing. Concurrently, de Jager will also appeal his suspension.
Mostert received a red card from referee James Doleman in the 12th minute of the Boks' match against Italy for a tackle on Paolo Garbisi, and he faces his judicial review in the upcoming days.
De Jager has already been handed a four-match suspension due to a tackle on France’s Thomas Ramos, and both players have been judged to have committed acts warranting a permanent red card, with the bunker review not being utilized.
Expressing disappointment, Stick remarked, “I think ‘Sous’ will have his hearing Tuesday or Wednesday, and Lood de Jager is currently going through another appeal. As a team, we are just disappointed with how things are flowing at the moment.”
Stick continued in the same vein, “Week by week, we’re losing players, and it’s sad. The build-up to the Italy game was positive, and everyone anticipated a good match, so the game's outcome was disappointing.”
He further commented, “If you are saying that Franco Mostert deserved a red card over the weekend, surely many other incidents should have resulted in red cards as well.”
Referring to other comparable situations, Stick conveyed, “All of a sudden, other scenarios resulted in yellow cards, and we are just disheartened by how things are being managed right now.”
Detailing the incidents, Stick stated, “When looking at the actions of Franco Mostert and Lood de Jager last week, they followed the regulations. The only error was the contact with the chest that inadvertently involved the head. I struggle to understand how that leads to a permanent red card.”
“As coaches, we still have to put in a lot of effort. We understand the physical nature of rugby, and while they strive to comply with the rules, perfection isn’t always achievable. The assertion that the tackle was never legal is disappointing,” Stick explained.
Stick did not shy away from expressing that most of the decisions appear to have been unfavorable towards the Springboks. He suggested that their punishments seemed harsher in contrast to similar situations elsewhere. “In the first half, twenty-one decisions were supposed to be made, and twenty of them went against us,” he emphasized.
When questioned on whether he felt his team was being treated unfairly, he tactfully referenced other players who faced restrictions before the tour commenced, but he refrained from elaborating excessively. “I don’t want to say things and then end up facing a ban like Rassie (Erasmus) did in the past,” he noted.
“Players like Makazole Mapimpi are suspended and unavailable for the tour. With 47 Test matches, he was aiming for his 50th appearance. Youngster Jan-Hendrik Wessels is also absent due to suspension,” he added.
“Even when comparing the Fiji and France game with various cleanouts and situations in the Ireland and Australia game, those instances seem even worse than what our players have been sanctioned for. There is a sense of imbalance here,” Stick concluded.
In closing, Stick candidly expressed a growing feeling of injustice surrounding the treatment of the World Champions. “I don’t believe we deserve this as a team. Are we treated fairly? I don’t think so,” he remarked.
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