Hair-pulling? Pull the other one

The Hurricanes have fired back at John Dobson after the Stormers coach accused them of hair-pulling and cheap shots in their Super Rugby season-opener.

The Stormers won the match 27-0 on Sunday (NZ time) in Cape Town, with Dobson claiming this week that the Hurricanes had resorted to dirty tactics during the game.

‘‘I thought that was a meanspirited game. It was not good for the tournament going forward . . . it was very subtle stuff, but when we reviewed the game a few times we were more and more angry,’’ Dobson told reporters as he addressed their injury issues and the way their season had started.

‘‘I think Pieter-Steph [du Toit] went through quite a hard time . .. there was one movement where Seabelo Sena tla’s hair is pulled twice. We weren’t happy with that game at all, lots of stuff happened on the field.

‘‘They [the Hurricanes] are a good team so it was disappointing. You know, we’ve got Pieter-Steph du Toit who’s the world player of the year and if the

‘‘It’s a pretty big glass house there to be honest.’’

Hurricanes assistant coach Chris Gibbes on claims of foul play by his team against the Stormers

way of dealing with that is through cheap shots then it’s a problem. I don’t think it’s good for rugby, to be honest.’’

There’s generally an unspoken rule in rugby that even if you think a team has played dirty against you, you don’t speak about it publicly.

If it is really bad, you deal with it behind closed doors through the appropriate channels, which

Dobson claimed to have done by speaking to Sanzaar referees boss Lyndon Bray about his wider concerns.

Hurricanes assistant coach Chris Gibbes read the comments to media from Buenos Aires yesterday as his side prepare to play the Jaguares and was more than a little miffed.

‘‘I’ve just read the article and it’s blindsided all of us to be fair,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s a pretty big glass house there to be honest.’’

Gibbes said their review had revealed more than just that dirty play from the Stormers.

‘‘There are a few clips that we’ve looked at – TJ getting tackled off the ball, head shots and guys getting their head hit.

‘‘So I don’t know where he’s coming from with that. He’s entitled to his opinion, but it’s a bit surprising, and a bit disappointing.’’

One incident saw Hurricanes fullback Jordie Barrett hit with a swinging arm while his side played under a scrum advantage. Referee Jaco Peyper awarded the scrum and did nothing more about the high shot.

Peyper sent two Hurricanes players to the sin bin in the second half.

Gibbes agreed with the decision to yellow card Billy Proctor for cynically blocking a runner with his shoulder while he was chasing a chip kick, but couldn’t see why Vaea Fifita had been shown his for what looked like a legal tackle to the chest area.

‘‘Billy’s one we could have controlled, he didn’t need to do that, but Vaea’s one we have looked at a number of times and it doesn’t look [like a yellow card]. It’s Jaco’s decision and we have to live with that.’’