AUDIO: Jo'burg criminals won't deter Wallabies
REACTION: The Wallabies won’t let Johannesburg’s criminals deter them from enjoying their tour of South Africa.
Hooker Jordan Uelese said that apart from being “more alert” they won’t become reclusive on the remained of their stay.
He was reacting to the mugging of teammate Taniela Tupou, who suffered minor cuts to his arm – after having his phone snatched in Johannesburg at the weekend.
Tupou was walking back to the team hotel in upmarket Sandton, with eight other Wallaby front row forwards, this past Saturday – after the group had dinner at a nearby establishment.
He suffered the cuts as he tried to grab the phone back, after the criminal had run and climbed into a waiting car.
The Wallabies are preparing for the opening match of the Rugby Championship, when they face South Africa at Ellis Park this coming Saturday.
Uelese was adamant that the incident won’t result in a massive change in their social behaviour or the way they view the country, South Africa.
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“Nothing changes,” Uelese told a media scrum at the team’s hotel in Sandton.
“We’ve been here a lot of times,” he said of trips to Johannesburg, adding: “They [South Africans] are great hosts.
“They’re such nice people and crime happens everywhere.
“I’m not going to let a minority of criminals tarnish our thoughts on people here in South Africa.
“They’ve obviously been really great to us. They’re really nice people.
“If you walk around the hotel, they always have big smiles and always willing to accommodate you whenever and however they can.
“I think that theft happens everywhere in the world and I don’t think that should change the way we think about South Africans in general.
“They’re great people and I think we’ll continue to think of them that way.”
The hooker said the entire incident was over in a flash.
“It obviously happened so quickly,” he said, adding: “We were walking across the road. I looked back and a car was speeding off.
“When I look at it now, I am grateful he [Tupou] is in good shape and nothing happened to him too badly – he is ready to go and training for this week’s Test.
“So it was more of a case of he was obviously trying to chase down the car. We told him to backtrack, you never know what they have.
“It’s easy to replace a phone, you can never replace a life – so it was a matter of safety.
“When I looked at it, I thought: ‘Woah, anything could happen here’.
“In saying that our security team is pretty awesome, they have been looking after us really well.
“It just goes to show anything can happen anywhere..
“If they can steal a phone off one of the biggest guys in our team then they take it off anyone.”
He admitted they will be “more alert” when going out.
“We’ve got a great security team that has told us about the do’s and don’ts. We are still confident to go out-and-about.
“When you’ve got eight 120-plus kilo players you’re pretty good. We feel pretty safe being together there.
“Things happen and unfortunately we were probably too casual and having a laugh and that is the last thing you expect for someone to come and snatch a phone.
“It’s all about where you’re going and being mindful of the place you’re in and the surroundings. Also [you should] definitely not [be] going around by yourself.”
@rugby365com
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