The Stormers and the Cheetahs got into an almighty tangle at Newlands last weekend, resulting in two players receiving off-field yellow cards after the whole thing was put on a white card. There were some requests to have it featured, so here you go.
Ashley Johnson, who is off to London Wasps soon, and Stormers hooker Deon Fourie were both issued off-field yellow cards for their part in starting an ugly scrap that at one stage appeared to involve most players from either side.
While the punches weren’t clear to see in the footage, both players were found guilty of starting the chaos, contravening Law 10.4(m): Acts contrary to good sportsmanship.
If you’re still unsure, the off-field yellow card is issued for foul-play incidents that are very close to, but not quite, red card offences. It doesn’t affect the next game at all (teams don’t start with 14..), but it does go on their disciplinary record, as a normal yellow card would.
In this instance referee Steve Walsh consulted with assistant ref Jonathan Kaplan, who fell back on the white card for everyone, rather than picking out any players in particular. He did however mention an earlier incident, resulting in a yellow card, and a rather unhappy Stormers captain.
It’s an intesting bit of footage as Walsh in action is always entertaining, as is the way Jean De Villiers basically said that a white card is a cop out. There’s also a nice hit by Bryan Habana at the beginning of the clip.
The Stormers won the game 16-14, and you can view full highlights of the match here
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