TV footage appeared to show Kolisi’s head making contact with the head of Horne as he tried to extricate himself from being pinned to the floor by the Scotland centre in a pulsating encounter in Edinburgh on Saturday.
A statement from global governing body World Rugby said Kolisi, 27, had received a warning from citing commissioner David Pelton for striking with the head during the match at Murrayfield but that the offence did not merit a red card.
“Having reviewed the video angles, the citing commissioner determined that there were mitigating factors which meant that the action did not meet the red card threshold, including the player being illegally prevented from rejoining the play by Scotland’s Peter Horne and the moderate force of the strike to the side of the head,” it added.
“The match officials did not see the incident at the time on the field of play.”
A citing commissioner warning is issued for offences falling just short of a red card and forms part of a player’s disciplinary record.
Wales will be South Africa’s most difficult opponents on their November tour of Europe, even after losing at Twickenham to England and scrapping narrow wins over France and Scotland, Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus said yesterday.
The South Africans face Wales on Saturday in their last test of the year hoping to overturn a run of defeats on their last three trips to the Cardiff.
“In our view, Wales are definitely the most difficult opponent we will face on this tour,” Erasmus told reporters.
“Warren (Gatland) has managed to build a superb side with lots of experience, and they are playing a good, balanced game, plus they have good depth and quality in their squad.
“They put Tonga away last weekend and the previous week they defeated Australia, so we are preparing ourselves for the most difficult test of this tour.”
South Africa lost 12-6 in 2014, 27-13 in 2016 and 24-22 last year to Wales in Cardiff. They were also beaten 22-20 by the Welsh in June in a one-off test played in Washington D.C.
Erasmus said lock Eben Etzebeth, the most experienced member of the tour squad, will be assessed today to prove his fitness after missing the last two tests in Paris and Edinburgh.
“Last week I said it was a 50/50 for him to be ready, I’m a little bit more optimistic this week,” Erasmus said.