Captain of the XV of France against South Africa, Gaël Fickou returned to the exclusion of Lood de Jager against the Blues last Saturday.
It could have been the turning point of the match. While the French XV stood up to South Africa, the Springboks found themselves down to 14 just before the break. Consequence of the exclusion of Lood de Jager after his violent charge on Thomas Ramos. Alas, despite their numerical inferiority, the South Africans would ultimately dominate the Blues at the end of the match, winning 32-17.
Captain of the French team on Saturday, Gaël Fickou nonetheless praised the courage of referee Angus Gardner. “He was very courageous, because it’s true that out of 50 referees, maybe there are 49 who would have bunkered, they would not have made the decision themselves”said the Racingman in the Rugby Confidential podcast.
“It’s very courageous of him”
“For him it was incurable, it was a red card: charge with the shoulder, without the hands, to show violence and speed,” he continued, adding: “In fact, the gesture is very clear. When you put the speed on, when you see the point of impact and the collision, where it happened, it’s at the level of the shoulder, without the arms, without surrounding, so for me there is not too much discussion to be had around that. »
However, the French center remains convinced that the overwhelming majority of referees would have relied on these colleagues in the bunker. “99% of the referees would have given a yellow card to the bunker and he took responsibility, he made his decision. And, in the end, there would have been a red card I think, at the end, so it’s very courageous of him,” he insisted.
And World Rugby’s disciplinary committee was just as relentless as Angus Gardner, handing Lood de Jager a four-match ban.
