South Africa captain Siya Kolisi has a thrown his backing behind Springboks team-mate Jaden Hendrikse and told the critics to get over it, after the scrum-half was accused of feigning injury during a tense penalty shootout between Sharks and Munster in the quarter-finals of the United Rugby Championship (URC).

Both sides couldn’t be separated during an pulsating contest in Durban last weekend, which ended in a 24-24 draw.

However, the resulting shootout will likely live long in the memory, after prompting one of the most controversial moments of the season.

Shortly after taking his second shot, Hendrikse went down claiming to be suffering with cramp – and it’s fair to say Munster weren’t too impressed.

Hendrikse could then be seen exchanging words with Jack Crowley, before then seeming to wink at the Munster fly-half while receiving treatment.

It was a moment that enraged many in Ireland, with a number of onlookers believing it to be an act of gamesmanship to try and put the Irish international off during his kick.

If that was the case then it didn’t work, as Crowley stepped up to convert his kick, although his effort wouldn’t prevent Munster slumping to defeat, with Rory Scanell’s earlier miss condemning them to a 6-4 shootout defeat. Bradley Davids punted over the winner for the hosts.

Nevertheless, it was Hendrikse’s antics that really grabbed the spotlight, although not everyone agrees it crossed some sort of line. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby.

“And people can say what they like. It’s banter between two players, and that’s all it is. And that’s what Jaden is.

“From our side, he knows we’re backing him all the way.”

Commenting specifically on the accusations of cheating, Kolisi added: “I get people saying stuff to me in the game, I don’t moan about it. We just carry on, or you react however you want to react. It is what it is.

“We are supporting him, we stand with Jaden.”

He added: “Let’s get over it, it’s rugby, it’s entertainment. That’s what people want.

“They are going to go see the next game because they think things like this happen. Guys want to celebrate. Let people be themselves.

“We’ve all got our own ways of dealing with stuff on the field. Come on, we can’t box each other in, and we can’t all be the same, we are not robots, we are human beings.

“We express how we want to express, sometimes you are going to take it, and sometimes you are going to give it.”