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Sun 8 Apr 2012 | 11:47
Jannie Du Plessis slapped with off-field yellow card after starting dust-up

11
Comments

Sharks prop Jannie Du Plessis has been issued an off-field yellow card following a slap that sparked an all-in brawl between the Hurricanes and Sharks in New Plymouth on Saturday. The hosts played some great rugby and won the game 42-18.

Fiery flanker Karl Lowe and Du Plessis, brother of hooker Bismarck, had exchanged words at the ruck before a shove to the chest/face prompted a return slap from the Springbok front rower. This sparked a brawl the likes of which we haven't seen for a long time in Super Rugby.

"It was a pretty hard slap and he's a big boy. I wouldn't like to meet him down a dark alley," Lowe said after the game. Hooker Dane Coles said he emerged from a ruck to see mass chaos.

"I looked up and saw three different scraps going on. I tried to break it up but it was a decent bust-up. I'll have to watch the replay and see how it went. It was like a State of Origin fight. But once it was over the boys got on with the job," said the Hurricanes' Coles.

"Hopefully nothing comes out of it. What happens on the field should stay on the field," he added.

Despite the majority of players getting involved at some point, most of which wasn't caught on camera, Du Plessis was the only player to be issued an off-field card, as he instigated the ruckus. 

Referee Glen Jackson issued a white card to both sides and penalised the Sharks upon recommendation of his touchjudge. The Springbok front rower was later charged with 'Punching or striking an opponent'. He has not been suspended, but the yellow card will go on his record.

"The citing commissioners, after they looked at the full footage, saw Jannie du Plessis struck Karl Lowe with an open hand," said SANZAR CEO Greg Peters told the Sunday Star-Times.

"It didn't, in their minds, reach the threshold for a citing, even though it did spark the incident, which wasn't a good look. They've looked at the initial strike from Jannie and Karl Lowe's response, plus other players who were involved.

"I haven't counted up the number of players who ran in but they've considered the full incident," he added, saying that Du Plessis was very close to a meeting with the judiciary.

View a quick highlights summary of the match

What's your thoughts on what took place, and and the handling of it? If you're not registered to comment yet (without needing to verify each time), you can do so quickly here. 

Posted By: Grant Constable

11 Comments

  • quins1
    4:50 PM 11/04/2012

    i haven't seena fight like this since my match on sunday

  • terminan
    10:35 PM 10/04/2012

    I love a good fight

  • jwall
    7:29 AM 10/04/2012

    It's more just a disincentve to using the yellow. If the ref isn't 100% sure, he can issue a hite instead of a yellow for something like this.
    I understand that it can be reviewed anyway, but alot of the time stuff doesn't get looked at.

  • pretzel
    6:51 PM 09/04/2012

    Goes down on the disciplinary record, not sure if the amount of cards comes into consideration when the top teams are tied after all the games are played and perhaps their points difference is equal, will it go down to the team with the least cards wins? I recall a while back someone saying something about cards being taken into consideration for stuff like that. I have no idea whether they were talking through their behind or not...

  • 9:01 PM 08/04/2012

    Oh dear, seems like du Plessis will have to hand in is Front Row Union card. Looks like my granny when she's mad!

    Also, appart from te Blues, the biggest super rugby disappointment this decade, what is going on in new zealand? Every team is coming out swinging, with loads of new talent. Taylor, Perenara, Kerr-Barlow, Lam, Tameifuna, Anscombe, Barret, Savea, Lowrey, Retallick, Nanai-Williams, Todd, Manu, Sopoaga, Treeby, Poki... All young (some really young, others youngish) players that most teams in the world would gladly welcome

  • buzzkillington
    7:57 PM 08/04/2012

    How soft is Du Plessis, full on slaps Lowe when he's not looking - and for what, because Lowe gave him a little push in the chest - and then turns into a girl when Lowe goes after him.

    Look at Jannie Du Plessis after the slap lmfao, he literally turns around and tries to run off like a little woman-boy. How embarrassing. Looks like Tarzan (if Tarzan was on a monster diet of whole lion and protein shakes) and runs away like Jane.

    Sharks fans should be hanging their heads in shame at having such a pathetic player amongst their ranks. If I was the coach I wouldn't play him for a month, embarrassed his jersey and his team mates with his soccer antics.

  • thamesrowingclub
    7:19 PM 08/04/2012

    Yeah, so what does a white card do exactly? Lets a citing commission review something they already review? Too much.

  • pretzel
    7:14 PM 08/04/2012

    The off field yellow is, I suppose a message and a note to say that had it been fully seen that would be worth a yellow on the field. Correct?

    I can SORT OF see that being ok... Personally for me it is somewhere between a penalty and a yellow (New card to be invented for a 5 minute sin bin? lol)...but I wouldn't say a yellow was harsh or a penalty was lenient...

    As for the white card...do we REALLY need it? I mean is that not something that in the past the citing commissioner might have reviewed anyway?

  • moddeur
    5:22 PM 08/04/2012

    I see that French Top 14 tactics are making it across the globe.

  • 4:33 PM 08/04/2012

    Glad he wasn't suspended or anything too harsh. The penalty was enough, and I guess the "yellow" just tops it off.

    Was certainly unexpected watching the match, when all of a sudden there's a brawl involving almost all 30 players. Funny watching McLeod running in there in true scrumhalf fashion, throwing punches at any opposition player in his field of view.

    Nothing really wrong with all that - and both sides went back to relatively calm rugby afterwards (save du Plessis, who was a stone in the ref's shoe almost all match).

  • guy
    3:50 PM 08/04/2012

    Wow, a lot of things happening at the same time. I can see why the refs had difficulty identifying the culprit. Yellow seems sufficient in my opinion.

    Two things:
    - good on Lowe for not taking a fall and milking it;
    - good to see most of the players seem to be able to control themselves. It's mostly shirt pulling and pushing, not much cosmetically enhancing of the opponents face.

    Definitely not a French Top 14 fight..... ;-)

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