as during his 10 minutes sit-down in the first half the Springboks lost whatever momentum they had and were on the back foot for the rest of the match.
Question must be asked if the Springboks really need someone like Bakkies in the team. So often billed as the boks ‘tough man’ and ‘the enforcer’ Bakkies has been suspended more than any other Springbok in history and this has got to be disruptive to a team. This was so discernable in John Smit’s reaction “only Bakkies can explain what is going on in his own head.”
“I sincerely regret the incident,” Botha said. “I have let my team, my country and family down and I have done an injustice to the Springbok jersey and what is stands for. Rugby is a physical sport but it has to be played within the boundaries and spirit of the law. I truly regret my actions and will make sure that I put the extended time away from the game to positive use and return to playing with the right attitude”.
It all sounds sincere but for pity sake we have heard it so many times before and one can only hope that Andries Bekker grabs the opportunity to cement his place in the team and make it impossible for Bakkies to have to get suspended again.
Somehow I doubt whether this is the last we have heard from ‘the enforcer’ who will continue to foment the perception that the Springboks are a bunch of thugs.
