Josh Larsen got red carded — then went into the Springboks locker room and apologized

Canadian rugby player Josh Larsen made a personal apology to the South African team after getting red carded in his side’s 66-7 defeat on Tuesday.

Larsen was sent off in the first half of the Rugby World Cup game for a dangerous clearout on Thomas du Toit, driving his shoulder into the prop’s neck as Canada came close to scoring its first try of the game.

“I just wanted to come and apologize for my red card tonight,” Larsen said in the Springboks’ locker room.

“I’m pretty gutted about it but I just wanted to apologize to you guys face-to-face and wish you all the best for the rest of the tournament.”

The Springboks official Twitter feed tweeted: “This is what rugby is all about.”

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Larsen became the sixth player of the World Cup to receive a red card — two more than any previous tournament even before the group stages have finished.

It had little impact on the final result of Tuesday’s game as South Africa controlled proceedings from early on, with Cobus Reinach scoring the fastest ever World Cup hat-trick after 20 minutes.

World Rugby has ordered that Larsen faces a disciplinary hearing following his sending off to decide whether he receives a ban.

Canada has suffered three heavy defeats in its World Cup campaign so far against South Africa, New Zealand and Italy. Its final game against Namibia on Sunday, however, is expected to be a much more competitive affair with both teams looking to end on a high.