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Old Springbok lock Bakkies Botha says he doesn’t regret hitting All Blacks’ head Jimmy Cowan a decade ago.
The incident took place during a Three Nations match at Eden Park in Auckland in 2010.
Irish referee Alan Lewis and his match officials missed him, but Botha was later summoned and suspended for nine weeks.
Botha expressed his regret immediately afterward, but now, 10 years later, he has apparently changed his mind.
In an exclusive interview with the French rugby publication Olympi MidiBotha was asked if he regretted something: “No, not for a second. And if he relived this situation, he would do exactly the same!” he said.
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Botha continued: “That day in Auckland I was fighting Cowan after a kick. I was faster than him. I had passed him and he tugged at my shirt to stop me. When I reached him ten meters away, I made him understand that I was not had liked … I hate injustice.
“It’s not something I’m proud of. I dropped the Springboks that day. And Jimmy Cowan won the mini battle. But today he would react in exactly the same way … it’s still the fault of No. 9.” They talk too much and they know better than anyone how to get you out of the game. “
The All Blacks won the game at Eden Park 32-12, beating the Springboks by four attempts to nil.
Botha, now 40, played 85 tests for the Springboks between 2002 and 2014.
He represented the Bulls between 2002 and 2011, winning three Super Rugby titles with the Pretoria franchise before moving to France, where he played for Toulon, with whom he won three European Champions Cup titles and a Top 14 crown.
He retired from professional rugby in 2015.
Watch the infamous incident in the video clip below:
