Rassie Erasmus is confident Jesse Kriel won’t be punished for tackle on Scotland’s Jack Dempsey and insists there’ definitely wasn’t head-to-head contact’
South African director of rugby Rassie Erasmus believes Jesse Kriel should not receive any further punishment for his tackle on Scot Jack Dempsey.
The reigning world champions eased past the Scots in an 18-3 victory on Sunday to kick off their Rugby World Cup campaign, but Kriel’s high tackle was a worrying highlight.
The South African went into the tackle and clashed heads with Dempsey as he looked to break the opposition defence, with critics calling for a red card to be shown.
Kriel escaped punishment despite England’s Tom Curry being given his marching orders for a similar challenge during Saturday’s win over Argentina. However, Erasmus is not concerned that follow-up actions will be taken.
Erasmus, who guided the Springboks to World Cup victory in 2019, explained his view that there was no ‘head-on-head contact’.
South African director of rugby Rassie Erasmus (pictured) is confident no action will be taken against Jesse Kriel
Kriel (left) avoided a card for this challenge over Scotland’s Jack Dempsey (number eight)
Speaking on Monday, he said: “We are confident that they have not quoted him and we are very confident that there will be no citation,” Erasmus said.
‘There was certainly no frontal contact, it was a tackle on the ball. He advanced after tackling the ball.
“I’ve seen a few photos where it was taken just after Jesse made direct contact with the ball. You can make a tackle like that look really bad. “If you look back for a millisecond, a second or two, you can see he was clearly tackling the ball,” he added.
“So yeah, we’re very happy with the way it was called. We are happy with the decision that has been made.
‘I will be very surprised that this is noticeable from the first contact with the ball.’
Replays show the left side of Kriel’s face crashing into Dempsey, as the 29-year-old center doesn’t appear to bend his knees enough before making the challenge.
England’s Tom Curry (centre left) was sent off for a similar challenge on Saturday evening
He avoided any punishment as South Africa claimed a comfortable win, while Curry will learn his fate before a disciplinary panel on Tuesday.
However, former Scotland international John Barclay believes the challenge warranted an immediate red card as he analyzed the incident on ITV.
‘You are two minutes into the match and you have an incident that results in a red card. It’s a red card,” Barclay said.
‘He comes from far away. A clear line of sight and he exerts power. It’s head to head. It’s a red card.’