Feeling sorry for Butch

Now that Butch James has been sent down there's plenty of I-told-you-so and it's-about-time wisdom flying about. But, let's face it, most of us share a little culpability in the "criminalization" of the chunky flyhalf.

I feel sorry for James that he is now being hung out to dry because he is a victim of rugby’s tendency to protect it's rogues.

And, until such time as there a general condemnation of all forms of foul play, players such as James will continue to get into trouble.

Fingers are now being pointed at Natal coach Rudolf Straeuli for not having taken much sterner hold of his crash-tackler but, hey, didn’t we just love it when he smashed those Kiwis to the ground in the Super 12?

It wasn’t right and it wasn’t nice but it was effective. And it placed Straeuli in a Catch 22 because while he might have been worried about James being carded, he had to weigh that against his intimidation factor and the reality that opposition players tended to avoid the channel when it was patrolled by Butch.

The fact that James went over the top so soon after resuming duty in the Currie Cup possibly reveals why he was so ineffectual in the Springbok side.

Clearly the national coaches had brow-beaten him to keep his hands up, his right shoulder down and out of trouble.

In spite of this, though, he was cited and suspended for an ugly off-the-ball hit on France’s David Bory in the second test in Durban and yellow-carded for a tackling offence during the test against the Wallabies in Perth.

Instead of heeding the signs, though, we tended to be protective of James and accused Australian and Kiwi commentators of victimising him and referees of being prejudiced.

As I've said. Rugby loves it's rogues. We loved the way Frik du Preez settled Alain Plantefol's hash, we rejoice in Gert Smal's punch that felled Gary Knight and we revel in telling the tale of how Kobus Wiese pole-axed Derwyn Jones and in so doing knocked the stuffing out of Wales at Ellis Park.

We nod approvingly when we hear that Wiese never paid the fine his own team placed on him and we become furious at the conniving Kiwis for the 19-month ban they placed on Johan le Roux for biting Sean Fitzpatrick. Dammit, he deserved it didn't he?

We cried murder when Western Samoa flew into our boys with a succession of high tackles in the quarter-final of Rugby World Cup 1995 but, with Fitzpatrick's former All Black coach in charge, there was not a peep when the Lions hooker was let off scot-free for biting a Scottish player at Ellis Park.

That's rugby for you. Indignation depends on who’s doing what to whom. If you’re handing it out, it’s okay, but woe betide those who dare to return the compliment.

That's why I believe Butch James is in large part a victim of circumstance and a casualty of the rugby’s lore. I hope he’s not feeling too bad...and alone.