After the violence of the gesture, after the incomprehension, comes the time for appeasement. “I would like to apologize to Maxime Lucu for my gesture. I did not control my tackle and I am sincerely sorry. As I said after the game, I’m very happy that you are doing well, Maxime. Good luck for the rest of the season, ”Ryno Pieterse wrote on his social media.
The day before, the South African had been the author of a terrible tackle on the Bordelais. As UBB led by three points in an electric second half, Lucu hit a candle. No time for him to touch the ground again, Pieterse hits him violently. The tackle isn’t really one. It is too high, and above all too late. The gesture is all the more worrying as the scrum half returns 30 kilos to the second line of the CO. The sanction on the ground is clear, the red card falls. Pieterse is excluded. Lucu comes out with a concussion.
In the early evening, the scrum half was reassuring. “Thank you all for your messages of kindness. Everything is fine ! Still standing, ”he tweeted, a clenched fist emoji to punctuate the good news. His team left Castres in a draw 23-23, but for UBB the good health of their player should surely prevail over the sporting outcome.
An “attack” on the ground
The world of rugby was unanimous: this gesture must not go unpunished. At a press conference, Bordeaux’s Jefferson Poirot called the tackle “an attack”, assuring that he “rarely saw that on a rugby pitch. And on the side of Castres, the indefensible is not defended. ” It’s sad. It is a gesture that is totally worth the red card. We do not excuse his gesture, far from it. But he is also a young player who learns from his mistakes. He will be rightly suspended, ”admitted David Darricarrère, in charge of the CO’s rear. Ryno Pieterse risks a suspension of several weeks in the disciplinary committee, knowing that the apology could soften the sanctions a little.
