Joe Marler’s swipe at Bakkies Botha may grab attention, but it collapses under scrutiny, writes MARK KEOHANE.
Writing for the Sunday Times, Keohane says the former England prop’s claim that Botha was a “world-class thug” is long on theatre and short on fact.
Botha’s 85-Test Springbok career between 2002 and 2015 produced no red cards and just four yellow cards.
“Intimidation is not illegality, physical dominance is not thuggery, and reputation is not record,” he writes.
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Keohane argues that the myth of Botha as a serial offender does not survive contact with his disciplinary record. He was brutal, yes, but brutal within the demands of elite Test rugby. Fear factor is not foul play.
The résumé also buries the “not world class” jab. Botha won a World Cup in 2007, a British & Irish Lions series in 2009, multiple Tri-Nations titles, three Super Rugby crowns with the Bulls and three consecutive Champions Cup titles with Toulon. He was part of one of the professional era’s most formidable second-row pairings alongside Victor Matfield and later became a cult hero in France.
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Keohane reminds readers that Bernard Laporte once described Botha as the greatest player he coached, praising his presence and standards rather than any edge of illegality.
Marler may have mastered provocation, but the evidence tells a different story.
“Our boy was a world-class lock who made world-class teams harder, nastier and more resilient,” Keohane writes.
Photo: Duif du Toit/Gallo Images
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