Relief in Bulls camp after red card for Kriel is revoked
While the Bulls will have to overcome several setbacks after their first game on their three-week URC tour in Europe, there was at least some good news regarding the red card that versatile back Dawid Kriel received against Ospreys this past weekend.
There was great relief in the Bulls camp in Wales after the disciplinary panel that had to deal with Bulls centre, Dawid Kriel’s hearing after his red card against Ospreys, decided to revoke it.
Kriel has had his red card rescinded to a yellow card after a hearing sat on Tuesday 15 October.
The big centre was shown red in round four of the United Rugby Championship where his Bulls side was up against the Ospreys in Wales.
After Kriel’s hearing, the seating agreed that his 49th-minute incident had enough mitigation to be downgraded to a yellow card. Thus he becomes immediately available for selection as the Pretoria outfit prepares for their second match of a three-week European tour.
Jake White’s team are still in Wales, where they will play Scarlets on Friday night.
The Panel overseeing the disciplinary process consisted of Roddy Dunlop KC (Chair, Scotland), Donal Courtney and Gordon Black (both Ireland).
They found that while an act of foul play had occurred and the Player made contact with the neck area of the tackler, a combination of factors (including the Player’s attempt at a hand-off to protect himself, the speed & height of the tackling player, and the low force of the contact in question) was such that the Player had established, on balance of probability, that a red card should not have been issued. The card was thus rescinded.
Bulls supporters and rugby enthusiasts in general were upset about this card. There is a general sentiment that the game is harmed by the way in which rules in rugby as a full contact sport are changed these days. It is done in such a way that incidents that cannot necessarily be classified as foul play can get players into trouble. These rules also lead to great frustration with the players themselves and this can result in players being afraid to express themselves fully on the field.
The news about the revocation of Kriel’s red card will certainly be well received in the Bulls camp, especially after two Springboks – Gerhard Steenekamp and Elrich Louw – will not be available for the battle against Scarlets. Both suffered concussions against Ospreys.
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