The Springbok hooker, Johan Grobbelaar, has had the red card he received for a high tackle against the Scarlets rescinded. The player was shown a red card for the alleged head-on-head contact when tackling the former Toyota Cheetahs hooker, Marnus van der Merwe, during the 23-22 defeat to the Scarlets in Llanelli.

A week prior, David Kriel’s red card he was issued against the Ospreys was also rescinded and expunged from his record. Kriel was deemed to lead into contact with his elbow and made contact with the head and neck region of the tackler.

Unlike Kriel’s red card, the one of Grobbelaar played a big role in the Bulls suffering their first defeat of the season.

Recently the Bulls captain, Reinhardt Ludwig, said the red cards do have an impact on their preparation and game, but they as a team also need to adapt. “It has a definite influence on how we prepare in the week,” said Ludwig.

‘For the coaches, it’s harder than for us’

“There is planning that needs to take place for the team, so for the coaches, it’s harder than for us as players. It has an influence, especially when it comes to our preparation.

“That said, in rugby, a team has to be able to adapt and make another plan. There needs to be a plan B in place as well.

“We are so used to being able to adapt, but it is frustrating. However, I will not say it is impossible to deal with.”

Johan Grobbelaar. Photo: Morgan Piek

The disciplinary panel overseeing the process, chaired by Ben Rutherford (Ireland), Roddy MacLeod (Scotland), and John Carroll (Ireland), found that while an act of foul play had occurred, there was not a high degree of danger and the player did not enter contact in a dynamic manner or with a high degree of force.

The panel found that the tackle did not meet the red card threshold and the sanction was rescinded.

Grobbelaar has been cleared to play against Benetton in Treviso on Friday. He was, however, not selected in the Springbok squad for the upcoming End-of-Year tour to Europe.

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek cg/mvh