Cape Town – “If there is an angle, we will definitely cite him.” That is what Western Province coach Jerome Paarwater said about Bismarck du Plessis, after captain Nama Xaba stated that the Bulls hooker had punched lock Ben-Jason Dixon in Wednesday night’s Currie Cup clash at Loftus Versfeld.
The incident happened at a crucial time in the match, with the Bulls leading 17-15, and they went on to score a try through wing David Kriel in the same passage of play.
The Bulls went on to claim a 45-34 bonus-point victory to move to the top of the Currie Cup log on 30 points after seven matches, four ahead of the Cheetahs, who have a game in hand.
The incident occurred in the 49th minute, where Dixon contested a lineout close to the WP tryline, but Bulls lock Janko Swanepoel won it in the air, and the WP No 5 moved to the right and tried to disrupt the Bulls maul.
Dixon brings it down, and referee Griffin Colby’s arm goes out to signal a penalty advantage to the Bulls for collapsing the maul.
Du Plessis is then seen charging towards the maul after feeding the lineout, and he frees the ball up, out of the grasp of Xaba and Sazi Sandi, with Dixon at the bottom of the breakdown.
Du Plessis passes the ball to scrumhalf Keagan Johannes, who finds centre Stedman Gans, and the TV cameras cut away from the forwards on the ground.
The next time we see the Bulls No 2 is when he steps back into line and waits for the ball from Johannes.
A few seconds later, Dixon is then also seen in the defensive line for WP, and Du Plessis flicks the ball on for Marco Jansen van Vuren, who steps and then offloads to Kriel to score in the corner.
A reverse angle replay from behind the WP tryline is then shown of the lineout and subsequent maul, and eventually Du Plessis is seen looking down towards Dixon, who seems to have held on to the Bulls hooker’s leg.
On the left-hand side of the screen, viewers are able to see Du Plessis lashing out at Dixon on the ground.
The WP lock then holds his face, and Xaba points and shows the assistant referee that his teammate has been hurt.
Dixon holds his face as he gets up, but he readies himself to defend the line, and the ball goes to Du Plessis in a wider channel.
TMO Marius van der Westhuizen told Colby that “there is something, but it happens out of shot, Griffin, so the try stands”.
Colby goes over to Xaba and said that “something happened off the screen, so we don’t have any clear evidence to go against (awarding the try)”.
Xaba then tells Colby and the assistant referee that was closest to the incident: “Can the AR not intervene, because there is no angle on it? But I was there, and it was a clear punch, direct to the head…”
The assistant referee shakes his head and says something that was not audible on TV, and Colby replies: “If we can’t see on the screen, we can’t make a clear decision on that, okay Nama. I’m sorry about that. The try still stands.” And Xaba says: “How can there not be an angle though?”
In the post-match press conference, Xaba expressed his frustration with the decision not to sanction Du Plessis on the pitch.
“I think it was disappointing or maybe outrageous, that they didn’t have an angle on it. I was right next to it and I saw a clear strike to the face on our lock Ben-Jason (Dixon),” the WP No 6 said.
“So, I was very disappointed. In the context of the game in that second half, they scored a try (after the incident)… It could have been a potential yellow card or red card, and the reverse momentum swings our way.
“Obviously there is no place for that in the game, so I was very disappointed that there wasn’t an angle on that. They did flag it in the beginning, but I just don’t know in terms of the process, what went on from there.
“But I tried my best to go up to the TMO, and there just wasn’t an angle on it.
“I’m not sure (if it was an open hand slap or closed-fist punch). But it was a clear strike to the face – he even has a bruise on his right eye.”
Paarwater also expressed his unhappiness with Colby’s refereeing in general, which saw WP receive three yellow cards and numerous penalties.
“Unfortunately, if we go down (in the scrums), it’s a penalty against us – and if they go down, it’s a reset for them,” he said.
“There was one issue… That’s why I didn’t put that flank (Jarrod Taylor) back – that guy who dived on the guy (Kriel) after he scored. So, that was a bad discipline call.
“Discipline goes both ways. If we make a mistake, we get a yellow card – there are no warnings, nothing. I’m not going to blame my guys on discipline: it’s up to the ref to give yellow cards.
“We definitely hope there’s an angle on Bismarck… If there is an angle, we will definitely cite him.”
The 37-year-old Du Plessis recently served a three-match ban for a dangerous tackle in a United Rugby Championship match against Munster.
The former Springbok No 2 was given a red card after lifting Munster No 8 Alex Kendellen and dropping him over his shoulder in the 70th minute of the Bulls’ 29-24 victory at Loftus Versfeld on March 12.