Coaches deplore Greyling forearm smash
by Jason Humphries 15 September 2012, 14:45
All Black coach Steve Hansen described Dean Greyling’s forearm smash on Richie McCaw as a “cheap shot” and Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer said that the incident was unacceptable after New Zealand beat South Africa 21-11 in a Rugby Championship match in Dunedin on Saturday.
Replacement loosehead prop Greyling came onto the field in the 51st minute, but in the 64th minute he dived over a ruck and made contact with McCaw with the All Black captain lying prostrate on the ground.
Greyling received a yellow card as has subsequently been cited for the incident.
Hansen did not mince his words on the subject, while McCaw took a more philosophical view.
“It was a cheap shot,” said Hansen
“It will probably get dealt with accordingly, but it is not in our hands. The referees yellow carded him and they’ll make the decision,” he added.
“I’m just happy I got a penalty to be fair. It will be dealt with but it’s one of those things,” McCaw said with a wry smile.
This video is not available in your region
Meyer was unequivocal in his condemnation of the incident.
“I didn’t see the incident, but I’m very big on discipline and it was unacceptable and cost us the game as well. I want to apologise to Richie (McCaw) and we will deal with it in-house. We are a team that pride ourselves on our discipline and you can’t afford these things,” said Meyer
South Africa captain Jean de Villiers was equally as stern about the incident.
“We will never condone playing dirty. We will probably have to look at it again, but like the coach said discipline is non-negotiable for us and if he was in the wrong there then we will take action internally and if there is action afterwards then so be it,” he said.
The citing commissioner felt that the incident had met the red card threshold for foul play, which puts Greyling’s participation in the rest of the Rugby Championship in doubt.
