Namibia's captain Johan Deysel has copped a huge ban for his late and illegal tackle on Antoine Dupont in their World Cup pool match last week.
Namibia went down 96-0 to a full-strength France side in what one could argue was the most one-sided match of the competition so far. The Namibian side put up a spirited display which saw each and every player put their heart, soul and body on the line to make their country proud against the talented hosts. France sadly proved far too strong an opposition thanks to their gliding backline, fearsome forwards, and talismanic captain, Antoine Dupont.
Despite the gigantic scoreline, the biggest talking point of the match was the exclusion of Dupont from the field with a fractured jaw. The tackle that caused it, whilst reckless, was certainly not seen to be malicious. The 6 ft Namibian centre, Johan Deysel, was seen to express severe remorse following the collision before he took his marching orders.
After appearing before an impartial disciplinary committee, the 32-year-old was informed that he violated Law 9.13. Consequently, he received a twelve-week suspension. However, owing to his commendable history of discipline and his sincere apology, his suspension has been reduced by half. Additionally, if he participates in the World Rugby Coaching Intervention Programme, one more week will be deducted from his ban.
A World Rugby statement reads: “Namibia’s Johan Deysel attended an independent Disciplinary Committee hearing for an offence contrary to Law 9.13 (dangerous tackle) as a result of a review by the Foul Play Review Official in Namibia’s Rugby World Cup 2023 Pool A match against France on 21 September.
“The independent Disciplinary Committee was chaired by Adam Casselden SC (Australia), joined by former international referees Donal Courtney (Ireland) and Juan Pablo Spirandelli (Argentina).
“The player accepted that foul play had occurred and that the offence warranted a red card.
“Having considered all the available evidence, the submissions by the player and his representative, the independent Committee categorised the act of foul play as being at the top end of the scale of seriousness of offending, having regard to the degree of recklessness involved in the offending, the vulnerability of the victim player and the significant injury to him. Applying Appendix 1 to Regulation 17, the independent Committee determined that the applicable entry point is 12 matches.
“Having considered the mitigating factors, including admission of foul play and correctness of the red card at the first opportunity, his disciplinary record and apology to the player, the independent Committee reduced the sanction by the maximum mitigation of 50 per cent. The final sanction of six matches is to be applied as follows:
“Uruguay v Namibia – 27 September “Subsequent playing schedule to be determined.”
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