DUBLIN // The Ireland centre Brian O'Driscoll has slammed the South Africa coach Peter de Villiers for defending Springboks flanker Schalk Burger, who was banned for eye-gouging in the second Test against the British & Irish Lions last week.
"To hear the South African coach Peter de Villiers talk about gouging as being part of the game was semi-repulsive," O'Driscoll told Irish state radio on Wednesday.
"We are trying to promote the game and yet you hear comments like that. I just find it appalling. I truly find it a disgrace.
"If it's not clamped down, you are going to lose people to the game of rugby and that's essentially the bigger picture."
Burger was banned for eight weeks on Sunday for gouging the eyes of the Lions winger Luke Fitzgerald in the first minute of the Pretoria Test a day earlier.
De Villiers defended Burger after the incident and said that rugby was bound to feature more knocks than ballet.
The South African Rugby Union (SARU) has since apologised for De Villiers' comments.
O'Driscoll returned to Ireland on Wednesday as he was ruled out of this weekend's third and final Test after suffering concussion in last Saturday's defeat.
South Africa lead the series 2-0.
*Reuters
Fireball
Moscow claimed it hit the largest military fuel storage facility in Ukraine, triggering a huge fireball at the site.
A plume of black smoke rose from a fuel storage facility in the village of Kalynivka outside Kyiv on Friday after Russia said it had destroyed the military site with Kalibr cruise missiles.
"On the evening of March 24, Kalibr high-precision sea-based cruise missiles attacked a fuel base in the village of Kalynivka near Kyiv," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.
Ukraine confirmed the strike, saying the village some 40 kilometres south-west of Kyiv was targeted.
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The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
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Rating: 3.5/5
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.