{"id":359844,"date":"2026-01-08T23:29:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T23:29:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/359844\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T23:29:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T23:29:10","slug":"wales-flanker-alex-mann-reflects-on-eye-gouge-incident-that-rocked-world-rugby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/359844\/","title":{"rendered":"Wales flanker Alex Mann reflects on eye-gouge incident that rocked world rugby"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"The flashpoint between South Africa\u2019s Eben Etzebeth and Wales\u2019s Alex Mann. Photo Andrew Matthews\/PA Wire.<\/p>\n

Simon Thomas<\/p>\n

Wales star Alex Mann has spoken for the first time about the eye-gouging incident which saw double World Cup winner Eben Etzebeth banned for 12 weeks.<\/p>\n

Etzebeth stuck his thumb into Mann\u2019s left eye in the dying minutes of the Principality Stadium clash between Wales and South Africa in November.<\/p>\n

That saw the 141-cap Springboks second row red carded and subsequently suspended until April.<\/p>\n

In the immediate wake of the high-profile incident, Cardiff flanker Mann found himself at the centre of the biggest story in world rugby at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was pretty mad,\u201d he admits.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I was getting sent clips of it every 30 seconds, to be honest with you<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t really think about it. It is what it is. I didn\u2019t really think twice, I just got on with my stuff and focused on what I have been doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mann found himself the target of a social media campaign which alleged he had started the incident by gouging Etzebeth, a claim which was discredited by the findings of the South African\u2019s disciplinary hearing.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, it was frustrating because it wasn\u2019t the truth,\u201d says the Aberdare product.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew the truth and it was clear to see. There\u2019s not much more I can say on that.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook, it\u2019s in the past for me now. It was a bit of handbags and everyone could see what happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am just looking forward to this weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aggression<\/p>\n

Mann is the first to acknowledge that his combative nature and aggression are key aspects of his game and also that physical confrontation is part and parcel of rugby.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, it\u2019s 15 men going out to hurt each other, in my eyes \u2013 in the right way obviously, not in a malicious way,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s contact sport, you understand what it is. You can take it over the edge sometimes, it\u2019s natural. Everyone is human, but it\u2019s just about learning from those experiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s challenging in the right ways. It might come out wrong sometimes, but that\u2019s all a learning curve.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Alex Mann in action for Cardiff. Photo \u00a9INPHO\/Mike Jones<\/p>\n

Mann\u2019s competitive edge was evident during a full-on head-to-head with fellow Wales back rower Harri Deaves in the New Year\u2019s Day clash with the Ospreys at the Brewery Field.<\/p>\n

\u201cFunnily enough, he\u2019s one of my best mates, so it was wicked to go up against him. We loved it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we bring the best out of each other. It\u2019s a healthy competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was non-stop and that\u2019s what I expected, to be honest. I had been looking forward to that one.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw his father after the game and we gave each other a hug. That\u2019s what it\u2019s all about really.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mann, who turned 24 this week, started all four of Wales\u2019 autumn internationals \u2013 two on the blindside flank and two on the openside.<\/p>\n

So which position does he prefer?<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say I\u2019m more of a six, but I played 7 growing up and it doesn\u2019t really bother me,\u201d he replies.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a number on my back and how I adapt to those different situations.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the autumn, it was nice for me to play both. I feel like I am a 6, but wherever the coaches want me to play, I will play. That\u2019s no problem at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Test campaign\u00a0<\/p>\n

Reflecting on how the November Test campaign went for him, he said: \u201cI felt like I played decent in the autumn.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do feel like I am getting better as a player, so that\u2019s a positive thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cPhysically, I feel much better and that I can have an effect on the game now. I have just got to keep working on that.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal for me is to be the best player I can be.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach game, it\u2019s how can I give everything I have got to that game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just focus on the next thing now.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the 11-cap Mann, the next thing will be Saturday\u2019s European Challenge Cup clash with French club Racing 92 at the Arms Park, with Cardiff looking to bounce back after suffering defeats to the Scarlets and the Ospreys during the festive URC Welsh derbies.<\/p>\n

Support our Nation today<\/p>\n

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\n the people of Wales.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The flashpoint between South Africa\u2019s Eben Etzebeth and Wales\u2019s Alex Mann. Photo Andrew Matthews\/PA Wire. Simon Thomas Wales…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":359845,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-359844","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-rugby","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=359844"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359844\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/359845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=359844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=359844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=359844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}