Australian rugby commentator Brendan Cannon has apologised for calling Springbok rugby coach Peter de Villiers a clown during a discussion on that country's Fox Sports programme Rugby Club.
During an interview on Wednesday night, Cannon said: "I can't believe that senior players like John Smit and Victor Matfield allow themselves to be controlled by this guy. He is a clown. He surely does not coach the team.''
The Springboks' spokesman Anthony Mackaiser said that if he did not apologise for the remark, the show would no longer have on-air access to the team.
The apology was then aired this afternoon, according to Fox Sports' website. Mackaiser was not immediately available to say if the team considered the apology adequate.
Meanwhile, also on Friday, De Villiers denied saying the All Blacks were being favoured by match officials, which has been interpreted as suggesting a conspiracy against the Springboks. "In no manner did I ever suggest that the All Blacks were being favoured - by match officials or anyone else - because their country was hosting the Rugby World Cup next year," De Villiers said.
"I have stated many times during the past weeks that the All Blacks were better than us in their victories in Auckland and
Wellington. Whilst I have also expressed unhappiness over some refereeing issues, this is a separate matter altogether and has no bearing on what I said."
His comment, also on the Rugby Club, was based on "the general view that part of the success of any World Cup event rests on the fact that the host nation has a winning team”
