‘It wouldn’t have been nice’ – Rassie Erasmus Reveals Why Springboks DIDN’T Cite Sam Cane high tackle on Siya Kolisi
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus has detailed his side have not opted to cite Sam Cane following the collision which left Siya Kolisi with a broken nose, following a personal apology from the ex-skipper.
Cane was sent off in controversial fashion during the World Cup final between the sides following a high tackle on Jesse Kriel, but avoided any sanctions for the tackle on Kolisi at Ellis Park.
As a result, the Springboks captain was a doubt for the repeat clash in Cape Town, but he has been named in the starting XV this weekend before an extended spell on the side-lines.
“I don’t think he did it on purpose”
Speaking to the media ahead of Test Two, Erasmus opened up on the decision to not cite Cane.
“Siya’s injury was obviously when Sam hit him. To be honest with you, I don’t think he did it on purpose,” said Erasmus. “A yellow card might have been appropriate or a penalty might have been appropriate; but I told him afterwards that we weren’t going to cite.”
He added: “You have 12 hours after a game to cite and if the Citing Commissioner picked it up and thought it met the red card threshold then they investigate, but they went through everything and on this specific one it didn’t come up as breaking the red card threshold.”
Erasmus also highlighted the former All Blacks skipper came over to apologise.
“He came over and apologised. When you look at the action, yes, he could go a bit lower; but I don’t think he went for Siya’s head. It was just a head-on-head, it wasn’t with his shoulder it was his head on Siya’s nose. Sometimes it goes for you and against you.”
The poor guy was red carded in a World Cup final. It wouldn’t have been nice to see him get a red card again.”
Is Siya Kolisi fit?
Despite breaking his nose in the collision, Siya Kolisi will play in Test Two in Cape Town; with Erasmus breaking down all the steps they undertook to ensure he was ok to play.
“After we did all the scans, we said to Siya ‘will you go into contact half-hearted, because your nose is swollen and your cheek is blown out’ and he said ‘let’s see’.
