Sharks owner levels cheating accusations at Ospreys over uncontested scrums controversy: ‘Anyone willing to submit to a lie detector test?’

Sharks owner Marco Masotti has accused the Ospreys of cheating and tainting the integrity of the United Rugby Championship.

The Durban-based side were dealt a hammer blow in their pursuit of a spot in this season’s knockout stages, falling to a 21-17 defeat to the Welsh outfit in what was a highly controversial fixture.

Ethan Hooker’s injury has dominated the headlines in the aftermath, with the Springboks’ back dislocating his shoulder after scoring a try late in the first half.

Ethan Hooker injury and the Sharks’ official complaint

The Sharks star latched onto a Vincent Tshituka offload inside his own half and raced away to score under the sticks. However, after he had touched down for the five-pointer, Ospreys and Wales winger Luke Morgan dove on top of Hooker, which resulted in the injury, ending the 23-year-old’s involvement in the game and the rest of his club season.

Morgan lashed out at fans who criticised his actions on social media, while his head coach, Mark Jones, has also come out to bat for the player.

“It’s a disgrace if people are going to target sportsmen around incidents like that on a sports field to make it personal over an event on the field,” he told reporters earlier this week.

He added: “It’s really unfortunate that Ethan got injured – he’s a top-quality player and we hope he won’t be out of the game for too long – but Luke was just trying his best to do what he could for his team.”

Starting centre Le Roux Malan was also forced from the action and failed a HIA after Ospreys’ other starting winger Daniel Kasende made a head-on-head tackle, which also wasn’t punished by the officiating team.

The Sharks lodged an official citing complaint to the URC over the Hooker incident, but their pleas were ignored as the citing officer involved reviewed the incident and found that it did not meet the red (or yellow) card threshold.

Sharks’ ‘official request’ over Ethan Hooker incident rejected as URC closes matter

‘Sharks are done’ – Ex-Springboks slam ‘disgraceful’ shot on Ethan Hooker as ‘the worst thing’ from the weekend

Marco Masotti hits out at uncontested scrums controversy

However, Masotti’s main gripe is with the ordering of uncontested scrums. The Sharks struggled in the set-piece during the first half, but it was a completely different story in the second half when Springboks Ox Nche and Vincent Koch entered the fray, with the duo dominating the Ospreys’ scrum.

That dominance was quickly taken away when Garyn Phillips was forced off the pitch with an injury, immediately after the Welsh side were scrummaged off their own feed. Earlier this week, Jones explained that starting loosehead prop Gareth Thomas failed his HIA while starting tighthead Tom Botha was struggling with a neck issue.

The timing of the withdrawal raised suspicions among fans, and while Jones has rubbished suggestions that the Ospreys did anything untoward to deny the scrum contest, Masotti is not buying it and compared the events in Brigend to Diego Maradona’s handball goal during the 1986 FIFA World Cup.

“I walked into the Bridgend stadium last Saturday and felt the spirit of rugby with so many Welsh legends plastered on the walls — only to leave with the spirit of Maradona’s “Hand of God” following the uncontested scrums,” the Sharks owner wrote on social media in reply to a Planet Rugby post.

He added, “The integrity of our URC league demands better. Is anyone involved willing to submit to a lie detector test? I am sure our fans will offer a reward to anyone who comes forward with information.”

‘It was clear he was unable to function’ – Ospreys boss blasts cheating accusations to avoid Sharks’ Springboks-powered scrum

Ospreys props fit for this weekend

The Ospreys have since named their team for their Welsh derby against Cardiff on Friday evening. Loosehead Thomas passed his second HIA test on Monday, according to Jones, while tighthead Botha has overcome his neck issues to remain in the starting XV. However, Phillips has been replaced on the bench by Steffan Thomas.

Meanwhile, the Sharks have been forced to name a makeshift backline for their fixture against Edinburgh, with usual fly-half Siya Masuku starting at inside centre with Andre Esterhuizen shifting into the number 13 jersey.

Makazole Mapimpi has replaced the injured Hooker on the wing, while teenager Zekhethelo Siyaya earns his second start for the Sharks.

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