Matt Williams slams senseless Etzebeth ‘dog act’ following lengthy ban
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Dog act.
Outspoken pundit Matt Williams has slammed Eben Etzbeth, labeling his actions as “the pinnacle of the dog act table” following his ban for eye-gouging.
Etzebeth was handed a 12-game ban last week after he was red-carded for a blatant eye gouge on Wales flanker Alex Mann in their Autumn Nations clash.
The towering lock claims his actions were not intentional, but an independent disciplinary committee saw otherwise.
Writing for The Irish Times, Williams hasn’t been afraid to speak his mind in the past, especially when it comes to South Africa, and he hasn’t held back on his feelings towards Etzebeth’s actions.
“The action that still sits at the pinnacle of the dog act table is regrettably still with us,” Williams writes.
“The senselessly violent act of Eben Etzebeth, in attacking the eye of Welsh backrower Alex Mann, did not just break the boundaries of the social contract of what is physically acceptable in our game; it smashed it.
“In Cardiff last weekend, in the 78th minute, despite South Africa leading 73-0, Etzebeth broke the game’s law and rugby’s lore.
“To the officials’ credit, Etzebeth was correctly given a full red card by the referee, putting to bed once and for all the ridiculous arguments that the 20-minute red card had undermined the referee’s ability to correctly sanction egregious foul play.
“Etzebeth received a full red card because his actions were on a totally different level of violence when compared to accidental head contact in a mistimed tackle. Our regulators have correctly changed the sanctions to differentiate between the two.”
