Legendary Springboks back Percy Montgomery has revisited his six-month ban in 2003, which resulted in him missing the Rugby World Cup.<\/b><\/p>\n
The incident occurred during a Welsh Premiership match between Newport and Swansea, now the Dragons and Ospreys respectively.<\/p>\n
Referee Nigel Owens red-carded the Springbok after he was adjudged to have pushed a touch judge. At the subsequent disciplinary hearing, Montgomery was slapped with a two-year ban, 18 months of which was suspended and was also fined for his actions.<\/p>\n
Montgomery\u2019s six-month ban<\/p>\n
He would miss the World Cup<\/a> in Australia, where South Africa bowed out at the quarter-final stages, losing 29-9 to New Zealand, with the tournament becoming infamous in Springboks<\/a> rugby history for Kamp Staaldraad<\/a>.<\/p>\n Montgomery, who was the first player to reach 100 Test matches for the Springboks, revisited the events that led to him missing the tournament when he appeared on the Behind the Ruck<\/a> podcast.<\/p>\n 22 years after the incident, the former Bok still claims that he did not push the assistant referee who slipped because he wasn\u2019t wearing suitable footwear.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was at Newport. We were playing against Swansea, and Stefan Terblanche was at full-back in that game, and we were about 18-nil up, but it was raining in those miserable conditions in Wales,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe already had one lock sent off red-carded, and all of a sudden it was 21-18, and I\u00a0was just upset, and maybe I shouldn\u2019t have played the game.<\/p>\n \u201cAnyway, I went towards the ref, but I was talking to the other player, I was pointing at him, and the ref slipped, and I don\u2019t know. And then I just walked off, and I said, \u2018Guys, how can we lose from 18-nil up\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cYou had to be there to understand it. Unfortunately, we didn\u2019t have the cameras [that they do now]. But the ref did slip. It was a wet game. I spoke to him, and he slipped; he didn\u2019t wear studs, he was in takkies (shoes).\u201d<\/p>\n Percy Montgomery: \u2018There was something about Rassie, you just knew he was different\u2019<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Was Eben Etzebeth\u2019s ban harsh? Ranking the 16 heaviest eye-gouging suspensions<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Eben was lucky<\/p>\n On top of his ban, Montgomery was fined \u00a315,000 \u2013 over R333,500 on current exchange rates. He says that Springboks lock Eben Etzebeth was lucky that his suspension for eye-gouging Wales\u2019 Alex Mann in November did not include a financial sanction too.<\/p>\n While he joked that he would love to get that money back, he added that it is important that match officials are respected, particularly because of how difficult the job is.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Eben was lucky. I got six months and a \u00a315,000 fine,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether the ref slipped or was pushed, I think you have to have respect for the referees. It\u2019s a tough job what they\u2019re trying to do, and there are huge grey areas. The grey area is who can adapt the quickest, and the best is going to get the upper hand.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve got huge respect for the referees. It\u2019s a tough job that they have.\u201d<\/p>\n Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for world-class coverage you can trust.<\/p>\n