There was an ugly incident at the South African 7’s earlier, as an idiot took to the field during the South Africa vs USA game and tackled a player. The madness didn’t end there as Perry Baker got up, took a second to think about it, then kicked the guy.
It wasn’t clear to see exactly how the tackle took place and the ferocity of it, but Baker will surely find himself in a bit of trouble as you simply cannot lash out like that, especially once the situation was under control and the guy was laying on the floor.
The referee, probably as shocked as everyone else, told everyone to calm down and the incident was quickly swept under the rug. The cameras panned out and no replays were shown. It was all a bit bizarre, and certainly not a good advert for the tournament or indeed, the sport.
Fans on social media had varying reactions, as some backed Baker’s response, while others were more outraged at the fact that security let it happen. Former referee Jonathan Kaplan tweeted:
In Baker’s defence, we can’t really judge his actions based on what we think we saw, as the initial unprovoked attack, which is what it was, happened slightly off camera. When the referee stopped play and went over to Baker, it did sound like he said something about being hit.
We’ll no doubt find out more soon, but below you can just about see what happened, as Baker dished out some street justice before the culprit was ushered off the field, and security finally caught up with him.
Baker took to twitter himself after the match apologising for his actions.
If you were there and managed to catch the whole thing on camera, please let us know.
Sign In