Namibians hit out at Chabal
Tue, 18 Sep 2007 19:37
Namibia coach Hakkies Husselman has accused Sébastien Chabal of play-acting during the red-card incident in Sunday's 87-10 defeat by France in Toulouse. Chabal was felled by a high tackle from Namibia loose forward Jacques Nieuwenhuis in the 19th minute and remained down for several minutes. The Namibian was given his marching orders by referee Alain Rolland, who had issued the Africans with two prior warnings over foul play. But Husselman claims Chabal, who went on to score two tries, made a meal of the tackle. "Sébastien Chabal did a good impression of a soccer player," he said. "He put on a good show, then got up and was running again." Nieuwenhuis was on Tuesday handed a one-match suspension for the tackle and will now miss Saturday's clash with Argentina in Marseilles. Judicial Officer, Bruce Squire QC, regarded the tackle as dangerous in that it "involved contact with the head of the opposing player with a swinging arm". However, Squires decided that the tackle, although clearly dangerous, was reckless rather than intentional. He also pointed to a number of mitigating features including the player's good previous record and the fact that he apologised to the Frenchman after the match. Chabal had accepted Nieuwenhuis's approach and made light of the tackle. "If I didn't have a beard, I would have got it right on the chin," he said.
