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End of the road for Paulse?
21/08/2005 21:47 - (SA)
Hennie Brandt , Beeld
Sydney - This may be the end of Breyton Paulse's Springbok rugby career.
The Springbok wing and the entire Bok squad were surprised when they heard that he would be unable to play in the important Tri-Nations match against New Zealand in Dunedin because of a three-week suspension.
This was not the end of the bad news. Prop Gurthro Steenkamp broke a bone in his right hand and loose forward Pedrie Wannenburg injured his back and they are also on their way home.
They will be replaced by Lawrence Sephaka and Danie Rossouw.
Paulse was found guilty by a Sanzar disciplinary committee chaired by a New Zealander of kicking the Wallaby tighthead, Al Baxter. Paulse was cited after the match and had to remain in Perth while the Boks left on the first leg of their journey to New Zealand.
The Boks are still considering whether or not to appeal.
National coach Jake White was totally taken aback when he heard of Paulse's suspension.
"This is a huge setback prior to our match on Saturday and not the way I want to see Breyton end his Bok career. He is one of our most experienced players and knows our defensive tactics as wing.
The Bok coach will need Solomon's wisdom to find a replacement for Paulse. One possibility is to move Jaque Fourie from outside centre to wing. Jean de Villiers can move from inside to outside centre and De Wet Barry can play inside centre.
This, however, will be a huge setback, because Fourie and De Villiers are playing well midfield, while Paulse played exceptionally well the past few weeks.
Pualse's suspension could mean the end of his Bok career. He has concluded a year-long contract with a French club and is scheduled to leave for France after the Tri-Nations series.
The fact that Paulse was cited after the match on Saturday was a shock to the Boks, and everyone who saw how Wallaby hooker, Brendan Cannon, hit Bok tighthead CJ van der Linde with the fist a couple of times, is wondering why he got off scot-free.
- Beeld
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