Lions in SA
O'Driscoll 'repulsed' by Div
2009-07-01 12:26
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Dublin - Ireland rugby union captain Brian
O'Driscoll strongly criticised Springbok coach Peter de Villiers on
Wednesday for implying that eye gouging was part of the game, calling
his comments "semi-repulsive".
O'Driscoll, ruled out of the Lions
tour after being injured in last Saturday's second Test which South
Africa won, said the Springboks' Schalk Burger should had been
red-carded for eye-gouging Lions winger Luke Fitzgerald.
"I am
semi-appalled that a player that clearly gouged another player was
simply given a yellow card and subsequently given an eight week ban,
which I find mind-boggling," O'Driscoll told RTE state radio.
"It
was one thing being semi-baffled by what the referee decided upon...
but to hear the South African coach Peter de Villiers talk about
gouging being part of the game was semi-repulsive. I can't be adamant
enough about that."
Burger was yellow carded but De Villiers
refused to condemn his actions, saying: "I don't believe it was a card
at all... this is sport, this is what it's about."
De Villiers
and South African Rugby Union president Oregan Hoskins subsequently
issued a joint statement condemning all acts of foul play.
O'Driscoll
said that irrespective of any apologies from de Villiers, his comments
were "essentially bringing the game into disrepute".
"We are
trying to promote the game and yet you hear comments like that. I just
find it appalling. I truly find it a disgrace," he said.
"If it
(gouging) is not clamped down on, you are going to lose people to the
game of rugby and that's essentially the bigger picture. It's a bad day
for us," O'Driscoll said.
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