No room in the Springboks for Mostert cleared of red card

DUBLIN (AP) — Coach Rassie Erasmus woke up on Thursday tempted to add Franco Mostert to his South Africa team facing Ireland this weekend.

Mostert’s red card against Italy last weekend was rescinded the day before and he was cleared to play.

“This morning, waking up, I thought, should we go 7-1?” Erasmus said of his bench thinking at the team announcement.

But he didn’t change his matchday 23 or pick Mostert because the big lock was unable to train earlier in the week due to his disciplinary hearing.

“If you bracket this player with that player it becomes a bit of a mess,” Erasmus said. “We decided to keep it clean and pick the guys who can train the whole week.”

The Springboks were largely restored to the team which beat France 32-17 two weeks ago with second-rowers Eben Etzebeth and Ruan Nortje and backup from RG Snyman for his 50th cap.

Mostert wasn’t freed to play until Wednesday morning. Neither was fellow lock Lood de Jager considered. De Jager appealed his four-game suspension and red card from the win over France in Paris. The outcome wasn’t revealed until Thursday afternoon and it was unsuccessful, meaning he won’t appear on tour again.

Mostert’s overturned red card partially vindicated Springboks claims that they were being treated unfairly by match officials after red cards were overcome in wins against France and Italy.

“I don’t think we deserve this as a team,” South Africa assistant coach Mzwandile Stick said this week. “We’re doing everything in our powers to make sure that we send the right message when it comes to how we play the game.”

Erasmus said after the Italy game he couldn’t understand the Mostert red-card decision, and he was delighted on Thursday at the card being reversed.

“We are confident in the protocols and the process that’s followed,” he said. “I sat in and listened to (the hearings) and totally understand how they got to Lood’s and Franco’s end result. Somewhere a mistake was made but it can be rectified. We all believe in the system. (Mostert’s) available and that’s great.”

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AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby