Vodacom Bulls boss Jake White has downplayed the severity of Bismarck du Plessis’ tip tackle and subsequent dismissal in his side’s narrow win against Munster.
Du Plessis copped a straight red, and now faces a likely sanction, for dangerously lifting Munster’s Alex Kendellan over his head in the Bulls’ 29-24 victory in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship on Saturday.
“I don’t think it was malicious. I don’t think it was dirty. I can’t see that as a high tackle or hitting someone on the head,” White said.
“At the end of the day, [Kendellen] was almost diving over him. He [Du Plessis] was a bit silly. He should have held the guy up and put him back on the ground.
“I hope common sense will prevail. I was going to start him on Wednesday against the Sharks, so hopefully, we get that sanction sooner rather than later.”
White, though, lamented having to watch his side barely avoid defeat with 14 men on the park, after their commanding 26-3 lead at halftime.
“We can’t keep doing that week in and week out,” he said. “The last time we played here, Morne Steyn got a red card. Again, we were down to 14 men. At this level of rugby, you can’t afford to go down to 14 men.
“We scored two tries, so we weren’t being defensive. But, yes, we made it hard for ourselves. But I have to say, Munster are not an easy team to play against. There’s a reason they are third on the log, and they’re consistently in the top two of the competition.”
