“It’s a total, total mess” – Nigel Owens reacts to the Eben Etzebeth ban
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Total mess.
Nigel Owens has weighed in on Eben Etzebeth’s ban for eye-gouging and reckons the Springbok lock was “lucky” to get away with 12 weeks.
Etzebeth was red-carded for a blatant eye-gouge on Wales flanker Alex Mann in the final moments of South Africa’s thumping 73-0 win.
Following a disciplinary hearing on Tuesday, the committee determined that contact with the eye was intentional and set a mid-range entry point of 18 weeks/matches.
Etzebeth was afforded six weeks off, reducing it down to 12 games, as he has not had a suspension since 2012. The Springbok also admitted that he had committed an act of foul play and that it warranted a red card.
Owens says his biggest issue is the “inconsistencies with the disciplinary process”, something that has plagued the game for quite some time.
“The biggest issue I have had is the inconsistencies with the disciplinary process where you get players getting two weeks, some getting six weeks, some getting 12 weeks, a player getting a ban, then because he holds his hand up and says sorry, they knock three weeks off,” Owens said via Off The Ball.
“Then he goes to tackle school, which is something he’s been doing since he was eight years of age, then he gets another week off. It’s a total, total mess, particularly if you want to change players’ attitudes on the field and make the game as safe as you possibly can.
“You want a deterrent? If you get sent off and you get six weeks, then you get six weeks. You shouldn’t be landing up with two weeks and all the nonsense that comes with that.”
As for the 12-week ban handed down to Etzebeth, Owens says “he’s lucky” and that he could have gotten double or more than that for his actions.
“A 12-week ban is a pretty hefty ban, considering the bans that are being handed out,” he added.
“There’s been a lot of talk about provocation, that something was done before and said before. If you forget all that and look at the incident itself, it’s a pretty bad one.
“I’ve been refereeing games where there have been gougings. I remember reffing a game at Twickenham where [Stephen] Ferris got his hand bitten by Dylan Hartley in the game.
“So these things have been going on for years. But when you see a player like that putting a thumb in the eye, it’s really, really dangerous.
“If you want to be really serious and send out a clear message, then the ban needs to be strong.
“I think he’s lucky to get 12 weeks. I think there were a lot of people who were expecting a little bit more. I think he’d only have to hold his hands up and accept, well, yeah, what I did was totally unacceptable.
“Forget what happened before; if something provoked that, that’s irrelevant, really. You have to deal with the actual incident itself.
“It’s a pretty bad one, so 12 weeks would be the minimum he should be getting, so he’s lucky he hasn’t got double that or a bit more.”
