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'One of the vilest acts' - Springbok in spotlight over URC incident
By Ian Cameron
Springboks wing Makazole Mapimpi has been accused of eye gouging during the Sharks’ 42-22 victory over Cardiff in the United Rugby Championship fixture.
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The 34-year-old was in a fiery mood at the Arms Park as the Sharks ended their run of back-to-back Champions Cup losses.
Springbok hooker Bongi Mbonambi scored two tries, while Jurenzo Julius, Makazole Mapimpi, Francois Venter, and Yaw Penxe also crossed the line. Cardiff trailed 21-10 at halftime and fought back to 28-22 by the 58th minute, but late tries sealed a bonus-point win for the Durban side.
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The match itself was a heated affair. Earlier, Mapimpi had celebrated in front of two Cardiff players after scoring a try, drawing a negative reaction from the Welsh side.
The win aside, footage of an incident involving Mapimpi and Cardiff’s replacement hooker Efan Daniel has drawn significant attention.
The clash occurred after referee Mike Adamson had stopped play for a penalty. Daniel played on and attempted a chip kick over Mapimpi, who tackled the hooker. The pair grappled and Daniel pulled Mapimpi’s jersey over his head, leaving him shirtless.
It was during this altercation that Mapimpi was accused of making contact with Daniel’s eye. The moment, captured on video, has circulated widely on social media.
Mapimpi making contact with the eyes is fine now is it? pic.twitter.com/XKiZ3sg1ub
— SmallClone (@Smallclone_) January 25, 2025
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Reaction to the footage has been mixed. One commenter wrote “Throw the book at him – harshest punishment possible. Gouging is an absolute no-go for me” while another added “Hope the citing commissioner is paying attention. One of the vilest acts of thuggery you can commit.”
Others defended Mapimpi. “Where? He’s holding the jersey – impossible” wrote one rugby fan, while another social media account suggested “Honestly simmer down, not like he’s scraping the dude’s eyes out and if it was the other way around same thing applies.”
Sharks head coach John Plumtree was happy to come away from the Welsh capital with a bonus-point win.
“I am pleased with the result,” Plumtree said after the win. “I thought Cardiff were excellent and played some good attacking rugby and stressed our defence on several occasions.
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“Losing Manu Tshituka and Nick Hatton early in the game put a lot of stress on our forwards, but I thought Deon Slabbert coming off the bench, having only been with us for a few days did well. Jason Jenkins adjusted well in the lineouts and getting the job done with losing two forwards early in the game was pleasing.”
“We had to strike back after they scored and keep that scoreboard pressure on them, through some good moments that we had.
“The critical thing in the last 15 minutes, was when we put the impact players on and how they closed the game out. I thought the front row was excellent and Lukhanyo Am, Swys [Francois Venter] and Jaden Hendrikse.
“I loved the way we closed out the game with the two late tries, but it could have gone either way. As I said, I thought Cardiff was excellent, they had a full house at the stadium and had great support.
“It was a good away win for us. We always hoped to get them over here and so were pleased with the win.”
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There is no way Makazole went for the eye gouge in full view of everyone, that stuff is saved for the bottom of rucks twenty years ago. They were definitely both arguing over who was going to have to pay the first round of beers post match as Makazole is notorious for refusing to ever get the first round and opposition are increasingly furious with his ongoing refusal. His hand does rake near to or on the face whilst trying to get his hands free of the fabric. It does appear that in his desperation he briefly gets close to contact with the eyes but definitely not intentional, not even careless. Interestingly with both hands tied up in the fabric 'handcuff' his opponent was going to be able to hold the fabric with just one hand long enough to free up the other hand to strip him of his wallet so the first round he must have paid for one way or the other for the first time post lockdowns.
Welsh losers clutching at straws because their once proud rugby legacy has gone to the dogs...
Sanity prevails. Mapimps cleared.
Thumbs up, but silly to get into that situation.
Strong Characters walk away and let the rugby do the talking. Why start a confrontation? It's either going to be weak as s... because you are just pushing and pulling like a five year old having a tantrum, or you are going to do something stupid in front twelve tv cameras and get nailed to a tree by the powers that be. You might even get sued for assault like Phil Greening. If you really must act like a child then do it like Josh Lewsey did to Mat Rogers. Big legal tackle. Job done.
BAN HIM. 10 WEEKS. He should come down to earth.
Show the whole interaction between the two players, not just the last 5 seconds
Need to see it in slow mo to be sure but looks like a gouge.
He had his shirt wrapped around his hand and didn't even touch the players face.
No it doesn't
Recent precedent related to eye gouging would suggest that unless the eye is hanging from a vein, it’s three weeks or less.
What precedent is there for removing another player’s articles of clothing?
This is a slippery slope.
Intentional injury to someone's eye is obviously totally unacceptable, and it should attract the harshest sanction where it takes place. Having said that you do need to be sure what actually happened, and in this case the video is inconclusive.
It looks like Mapimpi's left arm was caught in the jersey, and that Daniel was holding the jersey with his right hand, and raising it. If that's the case then Mapimpi's left hand being in the proximity of Daniel's face is not that surprising. And it was in the context of an altercation, with Mapimpi making a late tackle and Daniel reacting by yanking his jersey off. So, if you pull someone's hand toward your face, while wrestling with them, you're going to get something that looks somewhat like the attached video.
They need better video evidence. FWIW I would say that the footage in this article is inconclusive, and more likely explained by the fact that he was wrestling with one arm caught in the jersey. However, if they have evidence that he intentionally attacked Daniel's eye, then he should face the music.
I agree. They should throw the book at Mapimpi for what looks like an attempt to remove Daniel’s eye from it’s socket.
Likewise, Daniel should have the book thrown at him for what looks like an attempt to remove Mapimpi’s clothing to sexually assault him.