Share

De Villiers: Perenara deserved ban

Cape Town - Former Springbok captain Jean de Villiers feels it’s unacceptable that Hurricanes scrumhalf TJ Perenara is allowed to face the Lions in Saturday’s Super Rugby final.

Perenara has escaped sanction for foul play in last Saturday’s semi-final against the Chiefs.

In the 57th minute of match, Chiefs captain Sam Cane tackled Perenara without the ball in an attempted clean-out at a ruck.

Perenara, who was on the ground, lashed out with both boots and connected with Cane's head.

The All Black scrumhalf showed immediate concern for Cane's welfare - and match officials didn't revisit the incident.

SANZAAR confirmed that there were no citings from either of the weekend’s semi-finals, which means Perenara is free to play in the final against the Lions.

De Villiers, a 109-Test capped veteran, commented on the matter on SuperSport’s Afrikaans SuperRugby programme on Monday night.

He feels Perenara was lucky to escape without punishment.

According to De Villiers, players deserve consistency when it comes to foul-play suspensions.

“It’s frustrating for a player. You just want consistency. You can tackle a guy and get banned for a few weeks… here one guy kicks another guy in the face and nothing happens,” said De Villiers.

“As players we ask: ‘Are there double standards?’

“How will you fix it? Surely, if I kick a guy in his face, there has to be action taken and unfortunately that wasn’t the case.

“And it looked like there was contact, so you can only shrug your shoulders and ask ‘what now?’,” said De Villiers.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
26% - 1273 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
29% - 1470 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2243 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE