"Not only were they good at it, they were getting away with it," he told them.
After warning Koch once about barging through the line, Skinner belted him so hard he stayed down on Lancaster Park. The punishment worked and Koch desisted.
Meanwhile Bekker was giving loosehead prop Ian Clarke a torrid time in the scrums so Skinner swapped at halftime and when Bekker threatened to punch him, Skinner got in the first hit.
"It was a real beaut to the side of the head, he would have gone down too if he hadn't had his arm around the hooker."
Two punches, there were no more, Skinner says but the warfare stories took on a global edge. As the furore continued to fester, Skinner wrote a published letter to the Auckland Star asking for the hyperbole to cease.
Statistics
Date of birth: 24 November 1927
Position: Loosehead prop
Matches: 63
Tests: 20
Test debut: 16 July 1949 v South Africa, Cape Town
Last test: 1 September 1956 v South Africa, Auckland
Provinces: Otago, Counties
Test tries: 1
Test points: 3