VIDEO - 'Vindication': White dissects David Kriel's disciplinary hearing
SPOTLIGHT: Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White believes the United Rugby Championship is heading in the right direction after David Kriel’s red card against the Ospreys was rescinded.
The team from Pretoria were reduced to 14 men in the 50th minute in Swansea after the 25-year-old was sent off for his hand-off on Ospreys flyhalf Dan Edwards.
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David Kriel is sent off 🟥
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The hand-off was initially cleared by the referee Eoghan Cross and the TMO
However, after replays were shown on the big screens at the game, the crowd got rowdy and caused the referee to look at the incident again. Kriel was then shown the red card.
The card was eventually overturned after Kriel’s disciplinary hearing this week and White believes the way it was dealt with could be a game-changer for future hearings.
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“It’s a vindication that this competition will grow,” said White after he named his team to face Scarlets this weekend.
“The coaches want a player to have an opportunity to state their case.
“I have to compliment the judiciary and the way it was done. They allowed the player to talk about what had happened at the spur of the moment in that situation and it was handed incredibly professionally.
“It’s a great step forward for us because it means that when you do have a legitimate case and you genuinely feel like you would like to present it to the judiciary, it shouldn’t feel like you are poking the bear.
“That is always the fear when you go to those sort of hearings – you think it’s guilty and if you argue, it will be more guilty.
“I am very happy with the way it was handled.”
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White added: “What is important to understand is that players don’t want to have a red card next to their name in their professional careers.
“To just accept it and get a more lenient sentence is sometimes the worst thing you can do because the red card stays on your profile forever.
“I am very happy with the way it was done and with the outcome.
“Obviously, I am very happy as a coach that when you do present a legitimate case, it’s not an indictment or an attack on any of the officials.
“It also just proves that when there is human error it can be rescinded, so I am very happy with the way it was dealt with this week.”
Despite being cleared to play this weekend, Kriel was left out of White’s matchday squad for the Scarlets match with Harold Vorster getting a spot in the midfield.
“He [Vorster] was injured, and he would’ve been picked at some time when he came back anyway,” said White.
“It turned out David got a hearing, so we put him [Vorster] in and when David got his card rescinded, we just decided as a group to leave it as is.”
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