Lions guru warns of debating Sadie's controversial clean-out too much: 'Don't make the game soft'

He'll admit that there's a debate to be had over Carlu Sadie's clean-out of Bulls hooker Johan Grobbelaar last weekend at Loftus, but Lions forwards guru Julian Redelinghuys hopes such discussions don't end up making the game "softer".

The burly yet explosive tighthead prop made the controversial charge during the first half of the Lions' 21-13 loss in the United Rugby Championship, thumping into his opponent by merely leading with his shoulder and probably making no attempt to complete a tackle.

In the end, it didn't really matter that referee Aimee Barrett-Theron - after consulting with the TMO - merely awarded a penalty because the crux of the matter is that it would've, in all likelihood, been a yellow card in the northern hemisphere.

Can South African rugby afford such a difference in interpretation if they hope to be successful in the tournament?

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"I was laughing a bit about all the opinions there were about that clean-out," said the ever smiling Redelinghuys on Tuesday.

"Look, I will always be the biggest fan of player safety."

One can believe him on that because the former Springbok tighthead's career was tragically cut short at 28 after fracturing his neck in a Currie Cup semi-final back in 2016.

That doesn't mean, however, that he wants the essence of rugby being a tough, physical game to evaporate.

Balance

"The thing is, I grew up supporting the game because I could see (Springbok legend) Bakkies Botha cleaning out opponents and I believe a lot of us fell in love with the game because of those examples of the 'toughness' of it.

"I'm just wary of us leaning too much to the other side because rugby has actually has done well to