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Etzebeth faces a lengthy ban after his red card against Wales
These are your latest rugby headlines on Sunday, November 30.
Etzebeth faces massive ban
South Africa’s Eben Etzebeth could be banned from rugby for months as he prepares to be summoned to appear before a disciplinary panel after being shown a straight red card against Wales on Saturday. The Springboks lock was sent off with less than two minutes to go in his side’s 73-0 mauling of Steve Tandy’s men in Cardiff, having made contact with Wales forward Alex Mann’s eye with his thumb during an altercation.
The incident left Mann furious as he confronted Etzebeth again after the full-time whistle, while the wider rugby world has also been left outraged by Etzebeth’s actions.
While Springboks captain Siya Kolisi and Wales legends Sam Warburton and Dan Biggar expressed doubt over whether a player of Etzebeth’s experience would deliberately commit such a dangerous act knowing the likely consequences, it is widely agreed that the lock now faces a lengthy suspension from the game.
World Rugby guidelines state that the low-end entry point for “intentional contact with eye(s)” is 12 weeks, while a mid-range sanction of 18 weeks. A top-end sanction is upwards of 24 weeks, while the maximum ban available is 208 weeks, or four years.
With disciplinary proceedings set to be announced for Etzebeth in the coming days, the lock could therefore face a ban of three months or more, while he could even miss the majority of the rest of the season.
Speaking after the match, his own coach Rassie Erasmus admitted that the incident “didn’t look good” and was deserving of a red card, as he said: “I don’t know what I can say that won’t be controversial. It didn’t look good. It justified the red card. How it happened and why it happened, whether it was provoked, I’m not sure. But the optics was correct.”
Springboks legend Bryan Habana also weighed in on the situation, as he took to X to write: “I’ve just seen the Springboks scoreline but more so the incident with Eben. As great a player and person as he is, there’s no room for that in the game. Justified red card and should be facing a lengthy time on the sidelines.”
Wales legends say same thing after disaster
Two Wales legends from different eras have been left saying the same thing after Steve Tandy’s side fell to a record home defeat to the Springboks. The hosts were completely taken apart by Rassie Erasmus’ men on another dark day for Welsh rugby, as South Africa ran in 11 tries with no response to inflict Wales’ heaviest ever defeat on home turf.
While the result was never in doubt given the two sides’ respective form and positions in the world rankings, the magnitude of the brutal defeat was shocking, with fans and pundits agreeing that the fixture served very little purpose, with Wales’ low confidence levels sapped even further instead.
The match fell outside of World Rugby’s official international window, meaning both sides were without some players. In Wales’ case, Tandy lost 13 squad members as they were forced to return to their clubs in England and France ahead of the weekend, with the head coach fielding nearly a completely new team against the reigning world champions.
Former Welsh international Richie Rees said at the beginning of the autumn that Saturday’s match was “not worth playing”, and as the full-time whistle sounded in Cardiff yesterday, other ex-Wales stars were saying similar.
“It’s a sad, sad day to see my country suffering in Cardiff,” wrote former dual code international John Devereux on X. “I feel sorry for these players, this game should never ever have been arranged. Scotland had it right, play a few lesser nations to get the team confidence back. What do we do? Play at least 3 top 5 teams in the world.”
Meanwhile, former Wales fly-half Dan Biggar, who was pitchside as a pundit for TNT Sports, also questioned the need for the fixture, as he said “nothing was learnt” from playing it, with fans and players left demoralised.
“If you’d finished last week [against New Zealand], there would be a lot of positives,” he said. “Now, everybody is going away with a similar feeling to what they went away from that England game [14-68] in the Six Nations with – even worse now, 73-0.
“There was nothing learnt from that. We had Dave Reddin on here beforehand saying you never want to turn down the chance of playing against the world champions. Well, I bet there’s a few players out there who wish they’d had the chance to turn that down.
“There’s players out there who, because of the 13 guys not being available outside of the window, aren’t quite at this level, let alone going up against the back-to-back world champions and the favourites for the next World Cup,” Biggar added. “The difference in power, pace and set pace, it was men against boys today and I don’t think anybody learnt anything.”
Returning Wales duo taste victory
By PA Sport
Wales duo Tomos Williams and Freddie Thomas helped Gloucester to record their first Gallagher Prem win of the season at the sixth attempt after beating Harlequins 26-15 at Kingsholm on their return from international duty.
Full-back Ben Redshaw stole the show with two tries as Gloucester triumphed for the first time in league action since May. Flanker Lewis Ludlow and wing Ollie Thorley also crossed for George Skivington’s team, securing a bonus-point success complemented by fly-half Ross Byrne kicking three conversions.
Quins, whose England star Marcus Smith endured a frustrating afternoon, trailed by only two points at the interval, but could not add to touchdowns from wing Cadan Murley and skipper Alex Dombrandt, with Smith adding a conversion and penalty.
The visitors produced only occasional glimpses of their trademark attacking game, and second-half inaccuracy cost them dear as Gloucester eased home without remotely hitting top gear.
Gloucester monopolised initial possession and territory but Quins struck from their first attack to take a 10th-minute lead when Murley applied a simple finish after centre Jarrod Evans’ pinpoint pass freed him in space.
The home side’s response, though, was immediate and impressive as Redshaw carved open the Quins defence, beating three players before side-stepping a fourth to claim an outstanding try that Byrne converted.
Quins remained on the back foot, with their cause not helped by losing tighthead prop Titi Lamositele to injury, yet it proved a rapid regrouping process with Dombrandt touching down for his 50th Premiership try before Smith’s conversion opened up a 12-7 lead.
Gloucester had lost their early zip, undermined by frustrating handling errors, and both sides’ lowly league positions accurately reflected a first half high on endeavour but lacking quality. And there was an inevitability about a mistake gifting the game’s fourth try after Quins wing Rodrigo Isgro kicked wildly from deep inside his own 22, allowing Ludlow to gather and score on his 250th Gloucester appearance.
Byrne then further punished Isgro’s horrible blunder by converting and sending Gloucester in at half-time holding a 14-12 advantage. A forgettable third quarter saw no change in the scoreline until Gloucester struck again on the hour mark as Redshaw pounced for his second try and Byrne’s conversion left Quins floundering.
Smith then cut the gap to six points through a well-struck penalty, yet Thorley took Gloucester clear courtesy of an impressive finish that highlighted a strong individual display and left Quins with no way back. Quins went in search of a losing bonus as the clock ticked down, but Gloucester comfortably denied them and got their Prem campaign finally up and running.
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