Botha decision 'ludicrous'

South Africa captain John Smit has slammed the 'ludicrous' decision that means Springboks hard man Bakkies Botha will miss Saturday's final British and Irish Lions showdown.

Botha and flanker Schalk Burger are suspended from the tour-ending encounter at Ellis Park.

Burger is sidelined for eight weeks after being found guilty of making contact with the face in the eye area of Lions wing Luke Fitzgerald during last Saturday's second Test.

Botha, meanwhile, landed a two-week punishment for a dangerous charge on Lions prop Adam Jones in the same game.

Jones suffered a dislocated shoulder and has flown home early, while Springboks management unsuccessfully appealed against Botha's ban.

But Smit has leapt to Botha's defence following an incident that many astute judges feel amounted to nothing more than the Blue Bulls forward legally clearing out Jones at a ruck.

Smit also claimed to have received support from Lions players and management.

"We are deeply saddened, and probably more angry than anything else with regards to the Bakkies Botha outcome," said Smit, who leads his country for the 58th time tomorrow.

"I think we have to hope and pray that it is purely just victimisation of Bakkies Botha, and not the way the game is going.

"If it is not victimisation of Bakkies for the way that he plays the game hard, then a ruling like this could change this wonderful game we have for good.

"It is a great concern. The players are not happy, and we will stand together in this regard and make a point.

"If he has been found guilty for something that is not part of the game, I think we could probably take 15 or 20 clips out of every single Test match that's been played up until this date and ban every single guy that has cleaned a ruck.

"I have to hope it is victimisation of an individual - otherwise this game is going in the wrong direction.

"We haven't had sanity prevail with his appeal. To let something like this be passed is obviously setting a precedent that would probably ruin the game from a ruck point of view.

"We've had support from the Lions management, who have also said they don't agree with the citing.

"We've had support from players in the Lions squad - and I've had support from players around the world who I have played with and against, who've also said it is ludicrous."

World Cup-winning captain Smit, one of the sport's most articulate and respected figures, suggests the Botha ruling warrants close scrutiny.

"Rugby union is a contact sport where there is no place for dirty or foul play, but it has a place for men - and women - to throw themselves into rucks, to tackle hard and run with the ball as hard as they can," he added.

"When [Springboks wing] Bryan Habana is running as fast as a cheetah down the wing, you don't want him to slow down in case the guy running into him making the tackle is going to get hurt.

"That's just the nature of the game.

"There is a fine balance. For a ruling to be made on a guy like Bakkies who went into a ruck from behind the gates with his arms bound without a shoulder charge, the unfortunate thing is Adam Jones got injured in the process, but purely because his arm was stuck in the ruck.

"This