A horror injury in France’s clash with South Africa left Frenchman Jonathan Danty with a broken cheek and culprit Pieter-Steph du Toit in tears. France hosted South Africa in Marseille on Saturday evening in their latest Autumn international.
It was the hosts who prevailed, as they won the nail-biting clash 30-26 in front of a bumper home crowd at the Stade Veledrome. The game was marred inside the first 15 minutes though, after Du Toit saw red for a challenge on Danty.
As Springboks star Cheslin Kolbe looked to move possession from the right flank through the centre, he was stopped in his tracks by the resilient Frenchman Danty.
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After making his crunching challenge Danty was caught off guard by the on-rushing Du Toit, as the South African flew into the French centre, crushing into his face and leaving him in excruciating pain on the Marseille surface. Unsurprisingly the challenge then went upstairs and it appeared Du Toit knew exactly what punishment was on his way.
Clearly agreeing there was no mitigation, referee Wayne Barnes was heard addressing the incident on-field. He said: “So we’ve got head on head. Okay so let’s talk about that one.
“We’ve got direct head contact to a player who’s vulnerable on the floor, he’s not looking to move that player, he is leading with the head straight into the head of the player on the floor. Do we agree with those facts? There is no mitigation.”
TMO Brian MacNeice agreed, and Du Toit was given his marching orders just 12 minutes into the match. Clearly horrified by his tackle, the camera panned over to the South African who appeared to be in tears as he put his head in his hands whilst being consoled by his teammates on the bench.
What did you make of du Toit’s tackle? Let us know in the comments section below.
Those watching on were clearly in agreement with the red card decision, with the tackle being described as ‘one of the most horrendous acts for years’. Rugby journalist Stephen Jones tweeted: “In Paris we just saw one of the most horrendous acts for years.
“What amounted to a measured flying head-butt by PS du Toit on Danty. Shocking wasn’t the word. Red formality.” These thoughts were echoed by rugby podcaster Jim Hamilton, who went on to add: “Lost his head for a spilt second and nearly took Danty’s off. Clear red. Messy.”
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