SA media pile into Ball for de Klerk tackle

WALES and Scarlets lock Jake Ball has come under attack from the South African media for his controversial tackle on Sale Sharks scrum-half Faf de Klerk on the weekend.

Ball escaped any sort of on-field punishment for the incident, which left Springboks superstar de Klerk and many of his countrymen outraged.

Sale’s scrum-half was preparing to launch a box kick with his hands placed on the ball at the back of a ruck when Ball flattened the Springbok.

The TMO and match referee Mathieu Raynal looked to see if there was an offside penalty infringement but ruled the ball was out. The apparent contact to de Klerk’s head by Ball’s shoulder was not discussed.

Now a South African rugby show has demanded Ball be cited and handed a long ban, branding the incident “a shameful cheap shot”.

Journalist AP Cronje, who is a pundit on the The Backline show, said: “He dives with his shoulder straight at the guy’s head and folds him like an origami swan. Jake Ball is a big guy and Faf de Klerk, as we know, is not a big guy. He basically completely blindsides him. He’s not braced for contact, he’s not even in contact. He’s just got his hands on the ball and this guy thunders down straight into him.

“It is genuinely one of the worst things I have seen for weeks. It’s the most clear red card I’ve seen in months.

“The officials look at it and say the ball is out. It wasn’t. But even if it was out how can you let someone get away with that?

“The TMO watches this thing back. Any guy who has watched rugby for a day can tell you that is a red card any day of the week and twice on a Sunday. It was ludicrous. It’s shameful.

“I would be amazed if this isn’t cited and he’s not banned for four, five or six weeks. It was complete cheap shot, just awful. “I don’t even want to call it a tackle.” “I’m glad Faf wasn’t hurt. He could have injured his head, his ACL could snap with folding someone like that. It was awful to see and I hope Ball gets a big old suspension.”

Ball and de Klerk previously clashed during Wales’s heartbreaking World Cup semi-final defeat to the Springboks, with pictures showing the two men grappling as de Klerk laughed in Ball’s face back in 2019.

Cronje even claimed he felt the history between the two men may have led to Sunday’s incident

The popular SA Rugby Magazine added: “We are still unsure how Jake Ball escaped punishment for this horrendous act on Faf de Klerk.”

Asked for his opinion, Welsh referee Nigel Owens said: “It doesn’t look good from that angle but I would need to see the other angle to see if contact is with the head and the legality of the tackle.

“As long as the tackle is legal and no contact has been made with the head then it’s play on. If contact is with the head or it’s an illegal tackle action then it’s a sanction

“If contact is with the head then it should be a red card irrelevant of whether the ball is out or not.”

Ball is yet to be officially cited by European disciplinary chiefs.