In-form Venter could miss Warriors' Champions Cup play-off if found guilty of eye-gouging

Henco Venter was awarded the Player of the Match award after Glasgow thumped Leicester at the weekend, but his celebrations would have been curbed by an allegation against him of eye gouging.

The former Cheetahs and Sharks loose forward scored two tries to cap an excellent personal performance in the Warriors’ 43-19 defeat of the English team in a Champions Cup encounter.

However, shortly after the game, a video began making the rounds of a scuffle between England prop Dan Cole and Venter. Cole starts the scrap by wrapping an arm around Venter’s neck, and the incensed No 8 retaliates with what could be hand contact with Cole’s eyes.

Cole’s teammate Olly Cracknell ends the same passage of play by scoring a try to give Leicester an early lead. Still, the Venter-inspired Warriors responded with a superb performance to secure a quarter-final with Leinster.

English newspaper The Telegraph have reported that Leicester have lodged a complaint with the citing commissioner, who will decide whether to charge Venter.

The 33-year-old flank/No 8 has been in the best form of his life this season. Venter began his career with the Cheetahs before moving to the Sharks. He left Durban in 2023 to join his former Cheetahs coach Franco Smith at Glasgow, and the former Springbok centre has got the best out of him.

Venter, who has won a United Rugby Championship title under Smith, recently said: “Franco has had a big role in my career. I have played a lot of rugby under him. We have won a lot of trophies. He’s a big part of why I am here.

“I know what he stands for and I enjoy the brand playing under him. Every coach gave me something, he gave me the most, though, especially because I started playing for him at varsity in Bloemfontein, and then we went to the Cheetahs.

Venter is an ordained minister in the Dutch Reformed Church and the nephew of 1995 World Cup winner Ruben Kruger. If he is found guilty of eye-gouging, it would be out of character, and a suspension would be a big blow to the Warriors’ chances of beating Leinster.

In the other Champions Cup quarter-finals, Bordeaux host Munster; Northampton are at home to Castres; and Toulouse are away to Toulon in a massive French derby.