Cheetahs assistant coach Charl Strydom says referee Morne Ferreira and his assistants made a mistake in not stopping the game when Rosko Specman was concussed during the Currie Cup match against Western Province on Wednesday.

Specman took a nasty blow to the head when he attempted to tackle opposite number Angelo Davids in the second half of the match in Bloemfontein, only to be slammed to the ground.

Despite the former Blitzboks player looking worse for wear, matchday referee Ferreira allowed play to continue. This resulted in the Cheetahs turning over possession and Specman, who had managed to get back on his feet, trying to make another tackle as Province scored through Davids.

“I definitely think the referee should’ve stopped proceedings immediately,” said Strydom following the 24-17 win.

“If you look at the protocols around head injuries, they blow the whistle immediately when an incident of that nature occurs. Also, if protocol had been implemented, Province wouldn’t have scored the try that brought them back into the game.

“But I definitely believe [play should’ve been stopped] straight away for Rosko’s safety.”

Specman gave a positive update on his status on Thursday, but Strydom said that the winger would definitely be ruled out of the next Currie Cup match against the Sharks in Durban on Wednesday.

“Spekkies obviously will have to deal with his concussion. But I have to say that a lot of the guys looked ‘injured’ when they came in for half-time,” said Strydom.

“They were just so tired. It was a tough game.”

Photo: Johan Pretorius/Gallo Images