[ad_1]
All Blacks captain Sam Cane said he regretted his “split-second” decision to kick out at a teenage pitch invader in Mendoza following Sunday’s test victory against Argentina, but felt he ended the matter with the young man later that night on a “positive” note and did not expect to face sanction from Sanzaar who are reviewing the matter.
Cane spoke out on the incident after touching down in Auckland on Monday evening to begin preparations for a blockbuster clash against the world champion Springboks at Mount Smart Stadium on Saturday night. He clarified he had felt bad in the aftermath because of the invader’s age but explained his intent had only been to assist security in removing someone from the field who should not have been there. He confirmed he had apologised to the teenage rugby player for his action.
Daniel Jayo/Getty Images
All Blacks captain Sam Cane with the spoils of his side’s impressive victory over Argentina in Mendoza.
The All Blacks skipper’s action in felling one of a number of pitch invaders in a “chaotic” post-game scene after their Rugby Championship opener took some of the gloss off an outstanding performance from Ian Foster’s men to open their World Cup campaign.
Cane had gathered with his All Blacks team-mates after the 41-12 win over the Pumas at Estadio Mavinas Argentinas when the invader ran past him. The openside flanker poked out a boot that brought him to the turf, before quickly getting back to his feet. A pursuing security guard then continued the chase.
Cane admitted back in Auckland that the incident looked bad on video, but wanted to clarify the context of the situation as it was being reviewed by governing body Sanzaar.
“I saw a pitch invader running towards the team with a security guard some distance behind. In that split–second I made the decision to assist the security guard in stopping him, so he could take him off the field,” he said.
Sky Sport
The captain said he was “deeply disappointed” in himself after the incident.
Cane said his action had not been because of any fear of danger to the players, and when he realised that it was a youngster he had brought down his view quickly changed to wanting to take the lead on an apology.
”What people wouldn’t realise is there is a big moat round the field and in the time between the final whistle and our team huddle there had already been about five pitch invaders and security were doing the best they could. It was a bit chaotic out there.
“I’d say if he was an adult, I wouldn’t have felt I needed to [apologise], but the fact he was a teenager … straight away I felt bad because of his age, then when we got back into the sheds I was reflecting on it and once we got back to the hotel I looked into the possibility of reaching out to him.
All Blacks captain Sam Cane stuck out a foot and tripped a young fan who ran on to the field h in Mendoza.
“Through the power of social media and some locals we tracked him down, had a video call, and I explained, ‘I thought you were an adult’, and I said sorry for what happened. He was good. We chatted a little bit (through translation) about his rugby. His name is Roman, he’s a halfback, and I said he might be a decent running halfback because of the way he managed to evade security.
“There were five or six of his mates in the background all joining in and filming. Despite what happened it all ended on a really positive note.”
Cane said all indications the team had received were that he would be clear to play on Saturday against the Boks who opened their account in impressive fashion also with a 43-12 victory over Eddie Jones’ Wallabies.
”The fact there were so many pitch invaders within a short space of time, plus they’ve had to go through the effort of climbing over a barrier on to the field …maybe that’s something to look into,” he said, otherwise not looking to point any fingers about the shortcomings in security.
”I can only talk about the weekend. In the end all the pitch invaders were harmless, but I suppose you can never be sure, especially being in a foreign country and a new city.
“But I’m just looking forward to this weekend. We watched most of that South Africa-Aussie game prior to ours and knowing a large majority of their top side are here in New Zealand … we were pretty proud of the performance we put in, and our mindset has quickly shifted to recovering the best we could, travelling well and we’ll have a short and different week of preparation. But we’re excited for the match.”
Foster is likely to make some key tweaks to his lineup, with senior locks Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock, dynamic hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho, form Crusaders fullback Will Jordan and sizzling Blues wing Mark Telea expected to come into the selection frame.
The Boks loom as a potential World Cup quarterfinal opponents for the New Zealanders and, in a clear nod to their mindset for Saturday, they sent a dozen influential types to Auckland last week to get an early start on preparations.
Foster’s men put an out-of-sorts Pumas outfit to the sword on Sunday (NZT), though Saturday’s matchup should offer a much clearer indication of their readiness to leave an inconsistent 2022 season in the rearview mirrors.
[ad_2]