Why Eddie Jones believes Eben Etzebeth’s eye-gouge was ‘a minor incident’
Eben Etzebeth's eye-gouge incident and an inset of Eddie Jones.
Eddie Jones has weighed in on Eben Etzebeth’s eye-gouging of Alex Mann during the clash between Wales and the Springboks on Saturday.
The experienced Springboks lock’s actions have been the main talking point from the encounter at the Principality Stadium despite South Africa thrashing the hosts 76-0.
Etzebeth scored the last of Rassie Erasmus’ side’s 11 tries on the day, but his game ended on a sombre note when he was issued with a permanent red card after video footage showed him eye gouging Wales flanker Mann.
Bok captain Siya Kolisi argued that there was ‘no ways’ Etzebeth had done the act on purpose, while Erasmus said that it was a ‘justified’ red card, but added that he was unsure whether his lock was provoked.
Ewan McKenzie’s thoughts
Jones commented on the incident on the Rugby Unity podcast with fellow former Wallabies head coach Ewan McKenzie, airing his views too.
“That has unfortunately become the lowlight of the game,” McKenzie said.
“I was watching all the different ways they found to score tries, and then that happened at the end, which was really disappointing.
“I didn’t see the start of whatever happened, but you watch it at full speed, and lots of things are going on, but when you see the slow-mo, it’s pretty damning. So, it’s disappointing for him.
“Disappointing for the game that ends up being the entire focus of the match, and what’s going to happen out of that. You’d just expect a bit better these days.”
Eddie Jones weighs in
In the grand scheme of things, Jones states that Etzebeth’s red card was a ‘minor incident’ and preferred to look at Wales’ downfall and failure to sustain their successful team.
“In the context of the game, I think it’s quite a minor incident,” he began.
“Look, it’s not good for Eben. I’m sure he regrets doing it. It looked intentional, which is not fantastic.
Completely unnecessary.
Brain-less from Eben Etzebeth. A long ban loading.#WALvRSA pic.twitter.com/VWFwTt9tAD
— Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) November 29, 2025
“I think there are bigger issues coming from the game, some of which were discussed before, and definitely just for Wales in terms of how they fast-track their progress.
“How they update their development system, that would be the key thing for me.”
He continued: “They’ve let their development system go – quite clearly – and they’re paying the price for it now and the only way they can fix it is to try to shift all the political boundaries that are put on moving and changing the system and get on with it. Otherwise, you know, it’s going to be a tough time for Wales going forward.
“Because the countries that have done it and we’ve seen it with Ireland, Scotland, to a lesser extent, New Zealand consistently are able to produce teams that are sustainably successful.
“Wales had a very successful period under Gatland, but at the end, it was falling off, and they’re paying the price for it now.”
READ MORE: Law discussion: Eben Etzebeth’s ban for an eye gouge unlikely to be nearly as harsh as you think
