'Unhappy' Smal uses naughty Bismarck as example for Bulls to be clean in big Currie Cup clash

While steering away from discussing the merits of Bismarck du Plessis' red card in last weekend's United Rugby Championship clash with Munster, Bulls Currie Cup coach Gert Smal has definitely been left disappointed by the veteran hooker's unavailability for Wednesday's meeting with the Sharks.

The evergreen former Springbok hard-man is likely to be cited for dangerously lifting and then flinging Alex Kendellen head-first towards the ground at a breakdown in the narrow 29-24 win despite Jake White, the Bulls' director of rugby, arguing the incident was "silly but not dirty".

Given how much of a premium the Bulls are placing on defending their Currie Cup crown - various URC stalwarts start at Loftus mid-week - Smal was banking on Du Plessis' experience.

READ | Jake White responds to shocking Bismarck red card: 'It was silly, not malicious or dirty'

"He was absolutely considered for selection," said Smal, rather pithily.

However, team management haven't been averse to pointing out to the rest of the group that Du Plessis' rush of blood is exactly the type of behaviour unbecoming of a senior player.

Bismarck du Plessis sent off for this shocker.Alex Kendellen very lucky to avoid serious injury. pic.twitter.com/35f8QkcDkP

"I'm definitely not happy about it. I mentioned right at the beginning that we would want to see the players being accurate in a lot of things," said Smal.

"Discipline is one of those. We've implored ourselves not to give away unnecessary penalties and even focused on not remotely being shown yellow or red cards. That's really something we have to start actively managing. 

"It's definitely been a priority for us over the past week, and hopefully, we can deliver some quality rugby."

Meanwhile, Smal indicated that he