Stormers coach hits out at Bulls over Engelbrecht citing

Head coach John Dobson has hit back at the Bulls over their citing of a Stormers star after the URC match between the sides last weekend.

Stormers star cleared to play after citing

Stormers flank Willie Engelbrecht is free to play after being cleared by an independent panel following a citing from the Vodacom Bulls.

Engelbrecht was cited by the opposition for dangerous play in the Stormers’ 37-27 victory in the United Rugby Championship Round 10 encounter at DHL Stadium on Friday.

Engelbrecht was alleged to have made contact with the head and neck area of a Bulls player in a clean-out early in the game, but the panel found his actions neither reckless nor intentional and did not warrant a red card. He is free to play in the match against the Emirates Lions on Saturday.

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Disappointing and a slippery slope

Head Coach John Dobson said that a citing of this nature is quite disappointing.

“It is unfortunate to have spurious citings for incidents like this and I fear we may be on a slippery slope if this is the sort of thing teams are citing for.

“We are happy that the panel dismissed this so that we maintain our good record in disciplinary hearings of this nature,” he said.

Stormers vs Bulls rivalry getting nasty

The Bulls rivalry with the Stormers appears to be causing some at Loftus to stew in their juices.

Prior to the match Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White accused the Stormers of relying on the lineout drive and kicking game.

Those comments were openly derided by even the SuperSport commentary team as during the course of the match it became apparent that the Stormers offered more attacking flair than perhaps any other team in the URC.