Welsh referee Ben Whitehouse sent Sharks prop Ox Nche packing when he penalised him for "buying a penalty from the TMO."
In the final quarter of an entertaining affair in Durban between the Sharks and Benetton the Italian club had a lineout deep inside their own half.
As the Sharks approached the lineout South Africa international Nche fell to the ground which led Whitehouse to ask whether he had sustained an injury.
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“Injured?" asked Whitehouse. "Hang on a second, what’s the injury?”
“Are you trying to get a penalty?” he added before blowing his whistle and ordering the Sharks to get back.
“Don’t try and buy a penalty from the TMO by going down injured, back.”
The Welsh referee refused to tolerate Nche's playacting and proceeded to penalise the Sharks which gave Benetton an opportunity to clear their lines.
As the Sharks jogged back the resulting lineout Whitehouse spoke firmly to the home side's captain Siya Kolisi.
“Sometimes, we miss foul play because of positioning, if a player goes down and pretends to be injured…” Whitehouse said while being interrupted by Kolisi apologising to the referee. “You don’t need to apologise, but they will go off,” he said.
Whitehouse's firm refereeing mirrored the no-nonsense officiating of Nigel Owens in his prime, with the Welshman talked up by the South African commentary team.
South Africa's 1995 World Cup winning ace Joel Stransky was impressed by the man from Gowerton as was former Springboks playmaker Butch James.
“Well, I like that; we will have none of that nonsense in rugby union,” Stransky said.
James agreed, saying: “I love that, so good.”
The Sharks eventually ran out 43-33 winners.
Refereeing legend Owens is helping to coach younger Welsh referees and will have been impressed with the way Whitehouse dealt with the incident.
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