The statement Thomas Ramos provided for Lood de Jager’s disciplinary hearing has been revealed.

De Jager received a permanent red card in the first half of the Springboks’ 32-17 victory in Paris after making shoulder-to-the head contact with Ramos.

The 32-year-old lock also copped a four-match ban after appearing before an independent disciplinary hearing.

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“I caught a high ball and saw the scrumhalf [Cobus Reinach] coming up fast towards me. I tried to take him on in the one-on-one,” said Ramos in his statement.

“As I was about to go to the ground, I saw a South African player charging at me at full speed. I did my best to brace myself and absorb the impact. At the time, I didn’t feel any pain.

“However, my knee and ankle twisted a bit, which explains why, two days later, I’m feeling some muscle tension.

“I also woke up with some stiffness in my neck, probably due to the collision.

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“I don’t hold any grudge against the South African player [De Jager], but if he wanted to apologise, I would have preferred he did it right away rather than waiting until the end of the match, once both teams had already returned to the locker rooms”.

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