Tensions between South Africa and the Irish on the rugby front have been gradually rising over the past couple of years. Ireland saw off the Springboks during the pool stages of Rugby World Cup 2023 but the latter walked off with the ultimate spoils. Then there was the tense drawn series last year and the continuous seesawing between the Test sides at the top of the World Rugby rankings.
Last Saturday in Durban, that rivalry intensified a few notches after the Sharks, with a host of World Cup-winning Boks in their vanguard, squeezed Munster out of the United Rugby Championship race courtesy of a dramatic penalty shootout in the quarter-finals.
The home side won through on a tally of 6-4, with the scores level-pegged 24-24, even after 20 minutes of extra-time. A couple of incidents during the decisive battle of the boots, however, sparked a media frenzy across the hemispheres like seldom before.
Munster’s shootout defeat - the dark arts in rugby, yay or nay?
Ironically it wasn’t big Eben Etzebeth, known for occasionally grabbing an opponent by the chest or blowing a kiss, who caused the perfect storm. Instead, it was one of the smallest men in the Sharks camp, scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse, who, in the blink of an eye, or wink of an eye, invoked the ire of Munster and much of Ireland.
Having converted his second attempt at goal, Hendrikse dropped to the deck with what appeared to be cramp. Medical personnel arrived to treat him adjacent to where Munster outhalf Jack Crowley was supposed to have his second crack at goal in the shootout.
TV footage later showed Hendrikse, while he was lying on the ground, appearing to wink at Crowley. The Sharks player was also accused of faking cramp to unsettle Crowley.
Crowley succeeded with his kick before a heated exchange between him and a member of the Sharks management staff, André Barnard. It culminated in Crowley, shown on TV, appearing to tell Barnard where to go.
According to a member of the Sharks medical crew, Hendrikse, who had played the full 100 minutes, suffered severe cramping in both his calves, which prevented him from putting one foot in front of the other. Hence the reason for him dropping down on the spot.
He was still being treated for the cramps on Tuesday and unable to participate in practice sessions ahead of Saturday’s URC semi-final against the Bulls.
Incidentally, Munster skipper Tadhg Beirne also experienced cramping during extra-time of the game.
According to experts, such cramping does not unlock easily and can continue for up to five minutes. The only solution is to try and stretch it out, which is why Barnard and the team physio asked permission from the assistant referee to attend to Hendrikse on the field.
Crowley was understandably frustrated, insisting that Hendrikse be carried off, which led to the exchange of words with Barnard. Although relatively small, Hendrikse still weighs almost 90kg, so it would have been difficult for only two medics to carry him off, while it would have been even more disruptive to summon a cart.
People say stuff to me in the game, but I don’t moan about it
— Siya Kolisi
With so much at stake and everything on a knife edge, the situation spiralled out of context. Hendrikse’s cheeky wink then escalated matters. People who know the 25-year-old Springbok halfback, however, will tell you that he is a bit of a jester and that nothing sinister should be read into his behaviour.
Although a fierce competitor, who grew up playing football with his brother, Jordan, and other kids on the streets of King William’s Town in the Eastern Cape, Hendrikse explained in a recent interview that playing rugby at the highest level is all about having the right mindset.
“And, to enjoy yourself out there,” he said. His late father told Jaden and Jordan to enjoy what they do and to always play with a smile on their faces.
Playing with a smile on his dial is something that Hendrikse certainly does. Sometimes it can be misinterpreted as arrogance.
Staunch traditionalists might battle to come to terms with it, but since turning professional 30 years ago rugby has increasingly become part of the entertainment business. Players subsequently have a responsibility to occasionally push the envelope.
Amusement, fun and even diversion have become part and parcel of the game, preventing it from becoming a bore, a drag. The game needs entertainers, like Jaden Hendrikse, even if they occasionally ruffle some feathers.
Boks skipper and Sharks number eight Siya Kolisi alluded to this in a press conference on Tuesday.
“We stand with Jaden,” Kolisi said. “There was niggle everywhere in the game and it’s normal. These things happen, but now it’s being made into a big thing.
“People can say what they like. There was banter between two players and that is all it was. That is who Jaden is. I get it. People say stuff to me in the game, but I don’t moan about it; you just carry on.
“Some of the other players on the field on Saturday have also done stuff like that to opponents. We’ve seen it happen in the World Cup.
“It is rugby, it is entertainment. That is what people want and they will go to the next game because things like this happen. People are talking about Saturday’s game; that’s what you want.
“We all have our own ways of dealing with stuff on the field. We are not robots. We express ourselves.
“Sometimes you’ve got to give it and other times you’ve got to take it. It just happens like that . . . I mean, let’s get over it.”
