8 weeks for such a severe and depraved­ 'sporting' act is as disgraceful as the actions­ themselves. These two so-called professionals should be­ grateful they weren't banned for a year at least.­ If there is such a punishment. I know Rugby is a very­ physical game (and it's one of the reasons I love­ the sport) with an equal demand for strong mentality­ too. But this type of foul is NOT even defendable. The­ two Boks are a disgrace to sports people in general.­ And for that matter, the South African Coach trying to­ defend them, needs his eyes checking if he thinks such­ actions are part of the game...or his eyes gouging!

When the powers that be finally decide to stamp out all­ and any deliberate thuggery with lifetime international­ bans on the individuals concerned. When the powers that­ be finally decide to eradicate all and any deliberate­ 'Professional' fouls with lengthy international­ bans. When the powers that be finally decide to elect­ anonymously, unbiased officials from areas of non­ involved participants (Not announcing their names until­ the morning of the match)... Not until the powers that­ be organise the touring of international teams in a­ fair and respectful manner to both home and visiting­ sides.. Not until then will you, the world ever know­ the true world champions of this sport. Dare I add that­ given the manner, behaviour and performance of The­ (Afrikaans) South African Rugby Team both on and off­ the pitch, I feel it is quite realistic to assume that­ they would not be the world champions of such a fair­ competition.. Not as long as they have head coaches who­ willing advocate, encourage and condone such play as­ was shown in their last two test matches... I dont­ blame The (Afrikaans) South African Rugby Board of­ officials. I blame the weak, gutless, and ineffectual­ officials who are more interested in the commercial­ aspects of such tours rather than to stand firm with­ the integrity required to make such unlevel playing­ surfaces a thing of the past.

Terry you dic.k hea.d. Are you forgetting that two boks­ got banned. Why, because rugby is not about gouging­ peoples eyes out, it is about being tough within the­ rules. So when you say if you can't hack it go and­ play with the round ball, you prove you know nothing­ about rugby or sport for that matter. Sport is played­ within the rules. tough only applies within the rules.­ If you get banned, it is because you broke the rules­ and cheated. Maybe one day they will make rugby a total­ free for all. Then you and your boks will die. Because­ at the moment it is only the boks who play outside the­ rules. When both teams do, your little girly cheats­ will learn the lesson

Saffa's are just tougher?????????????? Don't­ make me laugh, there just a bunch of racist ignorant­ cowards. I couldn't name a single boxer or fighter­ UFC to come out of South Africa, but I could name­ 100's of rascist biggots. Don't recall them­ contributing jack 5hit to the world as we know it­ except for misery

Jarvis80d, not many black south africans called Jarvis­ I ever heard of. Oh, maybe you are not black but­ coloured. Or maybe you are white? When I was young and­ black in South Africa all the whites called me John,­ just like they called every other black John. At least­ the one good thing the Aparheid Govt did was outlaw­ insults to other races, so calling us John or Kaffer­ could result in criminal charges. Not that it ever did

Could everyone please stop talking politics or about­ the history of south africa here. I am Irish and will­ be completely honest in saying that I know very little­ about the history of south africa or what it is like at­ the moment, but this is sport and so this forum is the­ wrong place to be discussing any of it. Could we please­ just focus on the game.

With regard to the incident in­ question, it was a completely unacceptable offence by­ schalk burger. But lets not forget that he has received­ a ban and it has been dealt with appropriately, so i­ think all this talk of thuggery should end and the­ matter should be considered closed.

104, lucky guy and have a good day.

As someone who was actually at the match at Loftus last­ Saturday, I should like to make it clear that the Lions­ of 2009 are the best supported away team in any sport,­ EVER. What I saw at the stadium sent tingles down the­ spine, a sea of red, everywhere, including the­ hospitality tent. The supporters were magnificent and­ matched the level of rugby played by all the Lions.­ Particularly Kearney who was majestic.
Hearing­ "Bread of Heaven" sung by the Lions­ supporters brought a tear to the eye, shivers down the­ spine and would have been heard by the players - Lets­ hope we hear it again on Saturday.
I have no complaints­ over the OGara "incident" he has to live with­ what he did, not me, he knows he let the side down­ after an epic effort. I will be back in JoBurg for the­ last match, it will be another bruising encounter, I­ hope that talent overcomes brawn this weekend, though I­ look forward to the challenge. I am fortunate enough to­ be staying at the Lions team hotel and will make a­ point of shacking every hand I can find whatever the­ score.

#100, stupid comment, how does sticking a finger in­ someone's eye make u tough? F&%*in cowardice

Oh cry me an ocean you Pommy tossers. I watched the­ match with a bunch of English supporters and they­ thought it was the best match they had ever seen whilst­ the Lions were still ahead. As soon as that magical­ Kick went over the posts all they could start talking­ about was "cheating South Africans". You all­ a bunch of sore losers and should be ashamed of­ yourselves for talking like that. Up the Bokke and no­ matter what anyone says History will still show the­ Springboks as the winners of the BLI tour.

Jarvis, I am 62 years old, don't tell me what the­ Afrikaaner did to me or did not do to me. You were not­ even born then. Struggle? What struggle, I thought SA­ was now free and ruled by the black majority. Does that­ not mean the struggle is over? Or are you referring to­ the struggle between law abiding blacks and millions of­ black criminals? Well that is a struggle for the free­ SA Police. I spent more time in John Vorster Square­ fighting the struggle then you had hot bowls of soup. I­ left SA because I could sing and dance. I got a part in­ a SA stage show in the London. I left the country­ through a back door and was given asylem in the UK. The­ Uk is now my country, the country where my wife and­ children were born. Now I still hate the Afrikaaner and­ enjoy to irritate the young so called sports lovers.­ You are all so young and so angry and bite so easily.­ You make me laugh. So full of political knowledge when­ you know nothing. But this is about sport, COME ON THE­ LIONS

Saffa's are just tougher. A couple brits got­ hurt....shame. Go play with the round ball if you cant­ hack it.

S.A always result to thuggery and only winners like­ Johno, and WJMcB, who are tougher and more skillful are­ able to beat them. SA's record against Johno was­ pitiful.

Unless the ref's officiate the game­ without the bias, the lions tour is becoming a waste of­ time. The series should be 1-1 with a decider this­ weekend....ref's and thuggery won the day....what a­ shame.

french ref in charge of lions game what joke he cheated­ us french scum

I do not understand why people feel the need to mix­ sport with politics.

trouble you are the shame of South Africa - I am a­ black man and I am still iving here. You moan about the­ Afrikaaners but they porbably did nothing to you only­ your parents. My mom worked for a British family and­ they treated her the worst she was ever treated. Why­ did you leave the country, why not help your own. You­ are a Traitor of all people in the struggle.

Gouging incidents (we had another in the­ Australia-Italy match last Saturday!)in senior rugby,­ both at international and major club/provincial level,­ seem to be becoming more and more frequent. Referees­ and officials seem to be fudging the issue by doling­ out inadquate suspensions. I was always taught that­ the game is physically demanding enough without needing­ to resort to cheap shots. Gouging should warrant an­ immediate red card - no ifs and buts - if proven. And­ let's have no nonsense like 'OK, the ref dealt­ with it; that's the end of the matter.' ­ Gouging neeeds to be stamped out with a minimum one­ year ban. Eight weeks is a 'cop out'! These are­ professional players we are talking about here. If the­ ban hurts the player in the pocket, then that's­ fine by me. Better still, they get fired by their­ clubs because they are unavailable for selection for a­ season or two. Also, bans need to stay on the­ player's record with national association or IRB,­ just like with a motorist convicted of drunk driving­ who gets 12 penalty points and a ban. Bakkies Botha is­ a thug, purely and simply. He should have received a­ ban of at least six months for deliberately attempting­ to maim an opposing player. Again, it's not the­ first time he has offended in this way. Peter de­ Villier's comments, coming from a national coach,­ were inexcusable.

ETS FOCUS ON SATURDAYS, GAME. AS AN IRISHMAN, IT­ SADDENS ME THE WAY O,GARA WAS MADE THE SCAPE GOAT - THE­ FELLA COULD HARDLY SEE WHERE HE WAS GOING MUCH LESS­ HELP IT. DONT YOU THINK THE LIONS, MANAGEMENT SHOULD­ HAVE HAD "LIKE FOR LIKE " ON THE BENCH OR IF­ TESTS AE TO BE AS PHYSICAL AS THIS THEN THE SUBS SHOULD­ BE INCREASED IN NUMBERS. THE LIONS THREW IT AWAY, FOR­ MY MONEY, IN THE SECOND HALF WHEN THEY FAILED TO EXERT­ THE SAME PRESSURE ON THE BOKS AS THEY DID IN THE FIRST,­ TOO MANY PENALTIES CONCEDED AS WELL ( NOT JUST O,GARAS)­ AND THE FAILURE TO BE ABLE TO REPLACE @LIKE FOR LIKE@­ WHEN IT CAME DOWN TO INJURIES SUBSTUTION. WE KNOW HOW­ PHYSICAL THE BOKS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN - NOTJUST NOW - SO­ THE LIONS MANAGEMENT ARE GUILTY, IN MY BOOK, OF ­ NOMINATING A LESS THAN PHYSICAL BENCH. I HAVE READ A­ LOT OF " @#$% FROM SUPPOSED LIONS SUPPORTERS AND­ FROM SUPPOSED BOK SUPPORTERS. WHAT I HAVE ALWAYS LIKED­ ABOUT RUGBY WAS THAT PLAYERS AND SUPPORTERS BACKED­ THEIR TEAMS BUT ACCEPTED THE FINAL VERDICT. I ACCEPT­ THE VERDICT - THE BOKS WON A WONERFULLY CONTESTED TEST­ BY THE SKIN OF THEIR TEEETH - LETS BE PROPER SPORTS AND­ ACCEPT THAT AND LOOK TO THE FINAL TEST - ANY PENALTIES,­ ANY CHANGES THAT NEED TO BE MADE NOW OR FOR THE FUTURE­ , LETS LEAVE THWM TO THE POWERS THAT BE. I WATCH SOCCER­ AND SEE PLAYERS " IN THE REF,S FACE, MANAGERS­ DOING LIEWISE AND BRAWLS BREAKING OUT AMIONG SPECTATORS­ - RUGBY IS NOT JUST A GAME FOR MEN BUT FOR GENTLEMEN­ AND GOOD SPORTS WHO LEAVE THE ADJUDICATION TO THE­ AUTHORITIES . I KNOW I WOULD NOT WISH THAT PROUD­ TRADITION TO CHANGE AND I HOPE THAT NEITHER WOULD YOU.­ ROLL ON TO THE FINAL TEST. I AM SURE OF ONE THING -­ SUPPORTERS WHETHER LIONS OR SOUTH AFRICANS WILL HAVE­ IMMENSELY ENJOYED THIS TEST SERIES.

ETS FOCUS ON SATURDAYS, GAME. AS AN IRISHMAN, IT­ SADDENS ME THE WAY O,GARA WAS MADE THE SCAPE GOAT - THE­ FELLA COULD HARDLY SEE WHERE HE WAS GOING MUCH LESS­ HELP IT. DONT YOU THINK THE LIONS, MANAGEMENT SHOULD­ HAVE HAD "LIKE FOR LIKE " ON THE BENCH OR IF­ TESTS AE TO BE AS PHYSICAL AS THIS THEN THE SUBS SHOULD­ BE INCREASED IN NUMBERS. THE LIONS THREW IT AWAY, FOR­ MY MONEY, IN THE SECOND HALF WHEN THEY FAILED TO EXERT­ THE SAME PRESSURE ON THE BOKS AS THEY DID IN THE FIRST,­ TOO MANY PENALTIES CONCEDED AS WELL ( NOT JUST O,GARAS)­ AND THE FAILURE TO BE ABLE TO REPLACE @LIKE FOR LIKE@­ WHEN IT CAME DOWN TO INJURIES SUBSTUTION. WE KNOW HOW­ PHYSICAL THE BOKS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN - NOTJUST NOW - SO­ THE LIONS MANAGEMENT ARE GUILTY, IN MY BOOK, OF ­ NOMINATING A LESS THAN PHYSICAL BENCH. I HAVE READ A­ LOT OF " @#$% FROM SUPPOSED LIONS SUPPORTERS AND­ FROM SUPPOSED BOK SUPPORTERS. WHAT I HAVE ALWAYS LIKED­ ABOUT RUGBY WAS THAT PLAYERS AND SUPPORTERS BACKED­ THEIR TEAMS BUT ACCEPTED THE FINAL VERDICT. I ACCEPT­ THE VERDICT - THE BOKS WON A WONERFULLY CONTESTED TEST­ BY THE SKIN OF THEIR TEEETH - LETS BE PROPER SPORTS AND­ ACCEPT THAT AND LOOK TO THE FINAL TEST - ANY PENALTIES,­ ANY CHANGES THAT NEED TO BE MADE NOW OR FOR THE FUTURE­ , LETS LEAVE THWM TO THE POWERS THAT BE. I WATCH SOCCER­ AND SEE PLAYERS " IN THE REF,S FACE, MANAGERS­ DOING LIEWISE AND BRAWLS BREAKING OUT AMIONG SPECTATORS­ - RUGBY IS NOT JUST A GAME FOR MEN BUT FOR GENTLEMEN­ AND GOOD SPORTS WHO LEAVE THE ADJUDICATION TO THE­ AUTHORITIES . I KNOW I WOULD NOT WISH THAT PROUD­ TRADITION TO CHANGE AND I HOPE THAT NEITHER WOULD YOU.­ ROLL ON TO THE FINAL TEST. I AM SURE OF ONE THING -­ SUPPORTERS WHETHER LIONS OR SOUTH AFRICANS WILL HAVE­ IMMENSELY ENJOYED THIS TEST SERIES.

no wonder south Africa is in such a state with thugs­ like that in their rugby team, absolute cowardly trick­ to gouge someones eye out, I hope he gets his legs­ broken the big racist to55er