‘I’M NOT PROUD OF IT, BUT ME AND DERWYN ARE GOOD PALS NOW’
Boks enforcer Wiese on the ‘cheap shot’ that laid out Jones in 1995
IT remains one of the most infamous incidents in the history of Test matches between Wales and South Africa. The setting was Ellis Park, Johannesburg, in September 1995. The Springboks had just been crowned world champions while their guests had bombed out at the group stage of the World Cup.
Yet Wales had the temerity to take the lead inside five minutes through a try from flanker Mark Bennett. Then it happened. Just as Bennett touched down off a rolling maul, so second row Derwyn Jones, who had won the lineout, was laid out by a punch from behind from his opposite number Kobus Wiese.
That was the end of Jones’ match, as he had to be helped stagger off the pitch having been knocked unconscious, while Wiese stayed on and proceeded to score a try as South Africa won 40-11.
A “classic cheap shot” is how big Derwyn termed it and he has his own theory about what sparked the haymaker.
He believes Wiese had been fired up by ‘Boks coach Kitch Christie, who had directly challenged him to stop Jones having the kind of lineout success he had enjoyed when the teams met in Cardiff the previous autumn.
It resulted in the Transvaal lock running on with steam coming out of his ears, according to Jones. So, some three decades on, what is Wiese’s take on that explanation?
“Like any good second rower, my take is completely different than his!” declares the 58-year-old, who is now a TV presenter with SuperSport in his homeland.
On a serious note, he continues: “It’s something that I’m not proud of. It’s one of those moments in rugby. The truth is, if you look at the video, it was a reaction from my side. I retaliated, which I shouldn’t have done.
“But hopefully there are no grudges. I don’t think there are. We are actually good friends. I have got a lot of respect for him and we get along very well whenever we see each other in Europe or South Africa. We always have a good chat. Thanks to this game, I have made lifelong friends around the world and Derwyn is one of them. That’s the great thing about rugby.”
He added: “I loved the game and tried to play to the best of my ability, but things happen on the field. It’s a physical game and sometimes tempers flare. If you are part of the forwards, it starts up front and it ends up front. Sometimes these things happen.”
While Wiese went unpunished during the game in 1995, he was subsequently banned for 30 days and fined nine per cent of his annual South African Rugby Union contract of £100,000, leaving him out of pocket to the tune of £9,000. Edward Griffiths, the SA Union’s chief executive at the time, said: “Professionalism doesn’t only imply being paid, but implies high standards of conduct, too.”
Wiese readily acknowledges that these days, with all the cameras and a TMO, such an incident would certainly have seen him sent off and he has no arguments on that front. But he does feel the game is in danger of being swamped by regulations.
“Clearly, the safety of players on the field must always come first, but I am just a bit worried that we are starting to pile up too many rules and too many grey areas.
“That’s why you see so much inconsistency in the application and interpretation of certain laws. I really pity the referees because they have to interpret all these things and make a split second decision. You have got a TMO talking in his ear. It must be a hell of a difficult job. I would hate to be a referee these days.
“Just on the high tackle they are talking grades of intensity and degrees of seriousness.
“We are starting to make it too technical. There were not so many rules in my day. We must be careful. You can have rugby incidents. Sometimes it can happen, players running into each other, bumping heads, that’s a rugby incident, it’s a contact sport. It’s going to happen, there is no way around it. We need to draw the line somewhere. Rugby must still be rugby.”
The 6ft 6ins, 18st 6lbs Wiese won 18 caps in all, the last of them also coming against Wales, in Cardiff, in December 1996. He has the rare distinction of having never lost a Test match he started.
Having hung up his boots in 1998, he is now owner of a chain of cafés and CEO of a coffee-roasting factory in Johannesburg, while also being a familiar face on TV as a sports presenter. While he was a no-nonsense figure on the field, he is very affable and amenable off it, always ready for a chat. Happily, he is now recovered from the heart attack he suffered last year, which he admits came as a real unexpected scare.
In his role with SuperSport, he was covering yesterday’s first Test between South Africa and Wales at Pretoria’s Loftus Versfeld. So, speaking ahead of yesterday’s first Test, how does he see the three match series as a whole going?
“Being the current world champions, there’s a lot expected from South Africa and also with how things ended up in the United Rugby Championship. At the beginning of the URC, it didn’t look so good and we looked out of place. But our teams adapted very quickly and in the right manner and it was a great compliment to them that we had two sides in the final,” he said.
“I know there is a lot of pessimism from Wales, saying it’s not their best possible side and there’s a lot of injuries. The Welsh teams didn’t do that well in the URC, so I can understand people are a bit negative. But I have never really played against a bad Wales side.
“South African supporters know the history of Welsh rugby. They respect it and the great players that have worn that jersey. The passing of the great Phil Bennett was a very sad moment in this country. He was hugely respected, having toured here with the mighty 1974 Lions.
“Then, if you look at the current players, Alun Wyn Jones is someone who is very well respected. He is a grafter, you can always rely on him and he is still performing. He is an honest, hard-working second row who commands respect on the field.
“So the Springbok fans are really looking forward to a great series. Loftus is sold out, it’s not called the Bullring for nothing!
“It is always intimidating. I am sure the two other grounds in Bloemfontein and Cape Town will be sold out as well.
“The first Test is always very important psychologically to get the foot in the door and put the pressure on the other team. Wales will have to be focused and up for it both physically and mentally because it’s going to be a hard one. I just think South Africa will be too strong for the Welsh side, but hopefully it will be a really good series.”