Jones doesn't blame Botha
Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:48
Recovering Welsh prop forward Adam Jones says he does not believe Springbok lock Bakkies Botha should have been banned for the charge which dislocated his shoulder, saying simply that it "was just one of those things that happens in rugby."
Jones and Botha locked horns in the second test of the recent British and Irish Lions tour with the Welsh tighthead hurting his shoulder at a breakdown contact situation. Trying to steal the ball, Jones was cleaned out by Botha, suffering a dislocated shoulder and a six month spell on the sidelines.
Cited by the IRB Official after the match, Botha was then banned for two weeks for dangerous play.
Despite still being injured as a result of the collision, Jones, speaking at the Ospreys new kit launch, said he was disappointed to see the IRB ban Botha.
"It was just one of those things that happens in rugby," he said to the Western Mail on Thursday.
"Botha shouldn't have been banned for it, nowhere near it.
"I don't have any complaints. He just cleared me out of the ruck and I got caught.
"Everyone counter-rucks nowadays and, if anything, I was in the wrong place. He just hit me and I was unlucky.
"So I was surprised to see he got banned. I know we didn't cite him so I don't know why the independent commissioner did.
"It was just a fair ruck from a hard player. When I have met him before he seems like a tidy enough bloke so I'm not seeing it as anything malicious.
"I haven't heard from him since, though. But, then again, I was already on my way to hospital when the game finished."
One of the real characters on the tour, Jones said he was heartbroken when he was forced home early.
"I was absolutely devastated with the way it all ended,
"I really wanted to stay out for the duration and watch the final Test, but I had to come home for scans and stuff so that was really gutting.
"Brian [O’Driscoll] had to come home on the same flight as well. So we had two days of pretty hard drinking after that.
"The flight home was a bit of a strange experience. We didn't talk about rugby at all and it was nice to spend some time getting to know him better because he is a really nice bloke.”
Already looking to the future, the Welsh strongman is determined to be a part of the 2013 Lions party to Australia and says he absolutely loved every minute of his Lions experience in South Africa.
"It was a great summer and I really enjoyed the tour. It was better than I thought it would be and I definitely want to do it again in four years.
"It really helped that the squad was really tight and everything was well organised. To be fair, it was the best thing I've ever done."
He concluded: "The injury was naturally a big blow, but it was a good tour all round. I've had far worse things happen to me in the past and, at the end of the day, I now have two Lions caps to my name so I have to pleased with that."
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