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Mon 20 Mar 2017 | 12:58
Quade Cooper likely to be suspended following red card vs Lions

17
Comments

The Queensland Reds were given a severe 44-14 hiding at the hands of last year's Super Rugby finalists the Lions in Johannesburg on Saturday. They were not aided by the loss of playmaker Quade Cooper, who saw red for this challenge early in the second half.

After leading 15-0 at the break, the Lions picked up the pace in the second half and as star center Rohan Janse van Rensburg went over for the try, Cooper caught him too high in the tackle.

It was an interesting few minutes as the Reds were already down to fourteen men after Eto Nabuli was sinbinned for cynical play. The officials had two incidents to look at, as there appeared to be a tip-tackle taking place on Elton Jantjies in the background too.

That one was ignored, probably due to lack of evidence (camera angles), but as Cooper was told, referees have few options these days and the directives on high tackles are very clear.

ALL SUPER RUGBY ROUND 4 HIGHLIGHTS

Following initial consideration by the SANZAAR Foul Play Review Committee, Cooper will appear at a SANZAAR Judicial Committee Hearing after having contravened Law 10.4(e) Dangerous tackling of an Opponent.

The Judicial Committee for the Hearing will be Terry Willis (Chairman), De Wet Barry and Mike Mika which will be held by video conference at time to be determined following consultation between the Reds and SANZAAR.

Cooper will likely be out of action for one or two weeks, so has flown back to Australia and coach Nick Stiles has confirmed that young Jake McIntyre will fill in at flyhalf for their next clash, against the Jaguares in Buenos Aires.

UPDATE: Cooper has been suspended for 3 weeks

"With respect to sanction the Judicial Committee deemed the act of foul play merited a mid range entry point of 6 weeks. However, taking into account mitigating factors including the Player's admission of guilt, his remorse and the fact that the Player had a good disciplinary record having not come under notice since 2012, the Judicial Committee reduced the suspension to 3 weeks."

Coaches from both sides commented on the red, saying that the directives are clear and as long as referees are consistent, there should be no complaints.

credit: tightfiverugbyunion/brendennel/sanzaar

Posted By: Grant Constable

17 Comments

  • drg
    1:09 PM 26/03/2017

    ....or we should just say FK the fair weather supporter and bring the game right back down to it's roots.

    Head injuries are serious, as are all injuries, but perhaps in this case, treatment is better than prevention....

    I've said many times over, rugby is an inherently dangerous game... you're throwing 100kg+ lumps of untrained meat at, in some cases, 65-70kgs of meat... injuries are bound to happen regardless of how sanitised the sport becomes. The only true way to reduce injuries is to remove contact from the sport...and even then, accidents will happen.

    So rather than making unrealistic attempts at making the game safer, bringing about a means of aftercare for anyone injured is the better way to go. Have we really seen a rise in head injuries over the last 10-20 years, or are these things just becoming better reported and better highlighted so that they're easier for the 'layman' to recognise...

  • finedisregard
    11:55 AM 24/03/2017

    Thanks for elaborating.

    Perhaps the problem is professional rugby? What I mean is the problems the top 1% of rugby has are not the problems that rugby has at large.

    At the levels that most rugby players compete concussions, high ball challenges, and even scrum restarts don't seem to be a problem (in my experience).

    What is more important: keeping the laws and spirit of rugby intact for the amateur player or preserving the spectacle of pro ruby for the punter?

    NFL, NBA, and MLB all have different rules compared to the amateur level. Maybe rugby should follow.

  • im1
    5:43 PM 23/03/2017

    http://www.rugbyworldcup.com/news/108824

    Renaldo doesn't have the 'clean' disciplinary record that Cooper has, which got Cooper the extra week off the ban

  • im1
    8:55 AM 23/03/2017

    close.... old enough to get a concussion in a game and be told by the doctors on the sideline that I was fine to play on when I evidently wasn't.

    I think you are slightly missing my point though. I do think it is important that the laws of the game and disciplinary processes are updated to reduce the number of blows to the head players receive over their career as now that the game is professional and players are training 3 times a week and playing 30+ games a year, over a 10 year career many many players are going to take multiple blows to the head, which will cause long term damage. Whether a 3 week ban for coopers clothesline is right, I am not sure. But you should certainly take some punishment when you clock someone round the head, when you really could have made an effort not to. If van Rensburg had been diving for the line then cooper would not have been penalised (as explained by wayne barnes when he did his piece on rugby tonight), but he wasn't and was fully upright pretty much.

    But my point is, that if world rugby and the national boards do not do something about this now, they are opening themselves up to being sued for serious amounts of money by ex players as happened to the NFL. So this is not just about player welfare but also preservation for world rugby and national boards, and also appeasement of pressure groups who genuinely want rugby turned into a non-contact sport.

  • finedisregard
    4:24 PM 22/03/2017

    im1 and DanCarter, you guys sound like backline players born in the 1990's,

    Does it seem like these incredibly harsh bans are deterring players behavior?

    It certainly does not to me. At the last RWC (when players are on their best behavior) refs gave out 56 Yellow cards and 1 red. This is making a joke out of our game. Rugby will always be violent and messy.

  • drg
    8:36 AM 22/03/2017

    Make Cooper looked more remorseful, his hang dog routine must be pretty good...

    Have you checked Twitter activity?

  • katman
    8:02 AM 22/03/2017

    Renaldo Bothma (Bulls) was just given 4 weeks for exactly the same offense. If anything, his swing to the jaw looked a little less intense. Considering that his track record is as good if not better than Cooper's (and assuming he showed remorse, which they all do), what exactly makes his a 4 week ban and Cooper's a 3 week ban? It all just seems so arbitrary and subjective.

  • dancarter
    5:34 PM 21/03/2017

    Totally agree. I had a lecture at university 2-3 years ago that asked PE teachers/coaches how long a student should stay sidelined after concussion. Over half said a week or less than 2 weeks. The advised length of time is 4 weeks, which most PE teachers did not pick as their answer.

    I find it quite scary that when I played rugby at sixth form, if you took a knock to the head you were asked a few questions like your name, the date, the score, who you were playing etc by someone with no formal training in head injuries or concussion protocols, who then decided if you could play on according to your answers. There is significant risk from allowing someone who is concussed to continue, and it can be potentially fatal (see the Ben Robinson case) yet these decisions were made in a way that was probably no more reliable than flipping a coin to decide if a player was concussed.

    If you were concussed, you missed 1 game and would be back within 2 weeks. The long term effects of concussion as im1 mentions, as well as obvious injuries that can occur from dangerous tackles to the head and neck, can't be underestimated.

  • im1
    4:43 PM 21/03/2017

    becasue world rugby/domestic boards are sh*t scared that in 10-20 years time there are going to be huge number of lawsuits from ex-professionals with brain damage/concussion issues (look at Shontayne Hape article) claiming that their welfare was not looked after. This happened in the NFL. By changing the laws/guidance and sending players off for these sorts of hits they can demonstrate that they were trying to look after the players welfare, such that the risk of permanent issues in retirement for ex-pros is reduced to a level that is acceptable to take on as an individual.

    Plus it make actually do some good and result in less concussions or teach Cooper how to tackle

  • finedisregard
    4:08 PM 21/03/2017

    This game has gone crazy.

    It's definitely a high tackle. Why not just a penalty?

  • drg
    10:55 AM 21/03/2017

    What im said...

  • rugbydump
    10:01 AM 21/03/2017

    Cooper has been suspended for 3 weeks.

    "With respect to sanction the Judicial Committee deemed the act of foul play merited a mid range entry point of 6 weeks. However, taking into account mitigating factors including the Player's admission of guilt, his remorse and the fact that the Player had a good disciplinary record having not come under notice since 2012, the Judicial Committee reduced the suspension to 3 weeks."

  • im1
    8:52 AM 21/03/2017

    referring to the dump (spear) tackle in the background, not the clothesline

  • heavyhooker
    11:23 PM 20/03/2017

    Sorry DrG, clothes-lining a player is not on - new law or old law. While I do not agree with many of the new laws, this is the type of hit that has no place in any game any time.

  • drg
    9:41 PM 20/03/2017

    In the amateur era, no...
    In the pro era, no...
    In the cous cous era, definitely..

  • im1
    8:14 PM 20/03/2017

    Pause it at 10 seconds. That's a red by the directives surely?

  • drg
    6:14 PM 20/03/2017

    Given the rulings these days, that had to be a red card tbh...

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