Bakkies: 'I am not a thug'
Legendary Springbok lock Bakkies Botha has dismissed suggestions that he is a thug who is only out to injure opponents.
Speaking to the French publication Midi Olympique, Botha said he was not a monster that eats children - despite being portrayed as an evil ogre in the media.
The 32-year-old Botha, who made his Toulon debut off the bench in the club's 6-25 Top 14 loss to Biarritz at the weekend, played the last of his 76 Tests against Namibia at the World Cup in New Zealand.
However, a serious Achilles injury limited his game time at the global showpiece to just two appearances and he left before the Boks' quarterfinal exit.
Botha expressed the desire that referees should judge him on his on-field play and not his reputation.
He has been handed several notable suspensions during his career - including a nine-week ban for a headbutt on All Blacks scrumhalf Jimmy Cowan in 2010, missing the 2010 Super Rugby play-offs after foul play against fellow Bok Gio Aplon, a three-match ban in 2009 for striking Phil Waugh in a Super 14 season match in June that year in the second Test against the British & Irish Lions, Botha was banned for two weeks for a dangerous charge on the Lions prop Adam Jones.
Despite his well-documented past indiscretions, Botha insists that his love for the physical side of the game did not necessarily make him a scoundrel.
"I am not a thug. I love the [physical] battle, that's all," he told Midi Olympique.
Botha, who was also yellow carded on his Springboks debut, believes he suffers from the reputation that others have carved out for him.
"I was given a three-week suspension a few years ago for pushing [Australia flank] Phil Waugh at a ruck," he added, recalling an incident in 2009 that saw him found guilty of striking the Wallabies forward and subsequently suspended.
"When it came to the disciplinary hearing, the judge asked me how many times I had been cited in my life. I told the truth - 'once'. He did not believe me, asked me if I had personal problems, if I hit my kids... It was ridiculous. People are wrong about me. I do not eat children."
The veteran lock said not all referees had bought into the reputation bestowed upon him.
"I'll tell you a story," he said, adding: "In Currie Cup, my opponents were targeting me often. One day, AJ Venter [Sharks utility forward] sought to provoke me. Before every scrum, Craig Joubert [the South African referee] said: 'Stay with me, Bakkies. Nothing will happen to you'."
Botha admitted he had other offers in Europe, but opted to play for Toulon after the World Cup after an earlier attempt to join the French outfit was thwarted by a court case.
He said, in order to repay Toulon boss Mourad Boudjellal he wants to help the club qualify for to play in the Heineken Cup.
""Four years ago, I was on the verge of signing with Toulon. We could not [find a way to] end my contract with the Bulls. It ended in court [and] I lost [the case]. So I enjoyed that Mourad Boudjellal solicited me again two years later.
"It showed me he is a man of his word. I had other contacts [offers to play] in Europe. But I chose Toulon out of respect for him."
Botha eventually put pen to paper on a three-year deal and is determined to make an impact in that time.