OK, but he is our thug so it’s kinda tough to hate him.

Much like how many Ozzies love David Warner, even though he is a poison dwarf, so to do Bok fans have a soft spot for Bakkies Botha.

We know he was never too far away from a yellow card, and he loved to get stuck in physically, so there is no shortage of video compilations on YouTube to choose from.

The latest is titled “Bakkies Botha – Rugby’s Biggest Thug”, and whoever compiled the video clearly wasn’t a fan:

Bakkies Botha’s confrontational style has resulted in a number of controversial incidents, Botha is known as one of the “hardest” locks in world rugby, and is nicknamed “The Enforcer” for his physical play. in August 2003 he was accused of biting and then eye-gouging Wallabies hooker Brendan Cannon, and although there was insufficient video evidence to consider the biting charge, and he was found not guilty of gouging, he was still suspended for eight weeks for “attacking the face”.

He received a three-match ban for striking Phil Waugh in a 2009 Super 14 season match. Botha was banned for two weeks for a dangerous charge on the Lions prop Adam Jones in a ruck which left the Welsh player with a dislocated shoulder. otha was suspended for four weeks following a dangerous clearout of wing Gio Aplon. Botha was suspended from all rugby for 9 weeks by an IRB judiciary for head-butting All Black halfback Jimmy Cowan.

That’s not even close to his full rap sheet, buddy, but let’s enjoy The Enforcer in action:

Now that he has hung his boots up for good, Bakkies seems to be enjoying Twitter. Over the weekend he offered his support to KG Rabada and the Proteas, who will later today have his appeal against a two-match suspension heard.

Seeing as though Steve Smith went scampering to the umpire after Rabada’s sleeve brushed his, I don’t reckon he would fare too well against Bakkies.

[source:youtube]