Boland boss seeks audience with SARU over 'card chaos'
Boland coach Hawies Fourie has indicated that he has reached out for an audience with the South African Rugby Union refereeing bosses, after the chaotic scenes in their 56-23 SA Cup win over the Griffons in Wellington this past weekend.
Fourie said he had ‘mixed’ emotions, despite his team consolidating their third place on the SA Cup standings and staying alive in the race for Currie Cup qualification.
The Cavaliers shrugged off an ill-disciplined performance, as they scored eight tries to two.
The game saw referee Sean Muller brandish eight yellow cards and three red cards.
At one stage, the Cavaliers were down to 10 men, while the game finished with the Cavaliers down to 10 men and the Griffons to 14.
The Cavaliers lost Dayan van der Westhuizen and Sauliegh Arendse to the sin bin during the early stages.
Before the half-time break, Boland suffered another setback as lock Marlyn Williams received his marching orders for a professional foul with the Griffons hot on the attack.
The game turned into a bit of an ill-tempered affair in the second half, as more players on both sides got sent off.
The referee, Muller, brandished more cards as two Cavaliers got red-carded.
Replacement hooker Joshua Eras, Griffons replacement Quan Eymann, and Boland prop Van der Westhuizen (two yellow cards, which became an automatic red) were the players who received the ultimate punishment from the referee.
Lunathi Nxele, who scored the game’s final try, also saw yellow for a bust-up with a Griffons player near the end.
* (WATCH as Boland coach Hawies Fourie reacts to the ‘card chaos’ in his team’s 56-23 SA Cup win over the Griffons. Referee Sean Muller brandished eight yellow cards and three red cards….)
“I have never seen anything like this in my life,” Fourie said about the rash of cards.
“We are not allowed to air our opinions about match officials, but I have asked for a meeting with Deon van Blommestein, Mark Lawrence, and Sean Muller to get clarity on what happened.”
He said that, as the coach, he needs to know what he must work on.
Fourie is hoping that some of the more questionable cards, yellow and red, will be scrapped from the players’ records.
One of Van der Westhuizen’s yellow cards will be discussed, and if that is rescinded, the red card will also disappear.
The Nxele yellow card, after his try, is also among those being disputed.
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