BRYAN HABANA HAS taken to Twitter to apologise for his theatrics in the Heineken Cup final.
Toulon were awarded a penalty in the 63rd minute of their 23-6 win over Saracens, when referee Alain Rolland and his television match official, Gareth Simmonds, ruled that Owen Farrell put in a late challenge on the South African wing after he had chipped over the defence.
Rolland admitted to Sarries captain Steve Borthwick that “it was a bit of a dive, but he [Farrell] still took him out.” The Irish ref then told Habana, “You got the penalty, but let’s not try make it anything it wasn’t.”
Some commentary on the Cardiff final suggested that Habana’s reaction had been more suited to a soccer pitch, with Sky Sports‘ Stuart Barnes saying, “The game doesn’t need diving.”
The ‘dive’ did seem wholly out of character for the World Cup-winning wide man, who has since posted a message on his Twitter page apologising for his actions and explaining that they did not belong on a rugby pitch. Reputation restored.