Last night All Blacks Sam Cane and Malakai Fekitoa attended disciplinary hearings in London for incidents that took place during the fiery Test against Ireland in Dublin. Full details and videos are listed below, but Cane was cleared and Fekitoa picked up a one week ban.
There has been plenty of discussion about both incidents, namely on the post we added yesterday that talks about if the All Blacks are a dirty team or not. Head on over there for an interesting read or of course you can feel free to pick up on the discussion here.
Sam Cane - Tackle on Robbie Henshaw
Sam Cane appeared before an independent Disciplinary Committee (appointed by World Rugby), having been cited by an independent Citing Commissioner (appointed by World Rugby) for allegedly tackling an opponent dangerously in contravention of Law 10.4 (e).
Mr Cane did not accept that he had committed an act of foul play.
The Disciplinary Committee, chaired by Antony Davies (England), alongside Derek Bevan (Wales) and John Doubleday (England), having viewed video footage of the incident, listened to evidence and representations from and on behalf of the player, and reviewed all of the other evidence.
They concluded that Mr Cane's actions had been accidental and that he had not therefore committed an act of foul play. The citing complaint was not upheld and Mr Cane is therefore free to resume playing immediately.
Malakai Fekitoa - Tackle on Simon Zebo
Malakai Fekitoa appeared before an independent Disciplinary Committee (appointed by World Rugby), having been cited by an independent Citing Commissioner (appointed by World Rugby) for an allegedly dangerous tackle in contravention of Law 10.4 (e).
Mr Fekitoa accepted that he had committed an act of foul play but asserted that it would not have warranted a red card.
The Disciplinary Committee, chaired by Antony Davies (England), alongside Derek Bevan (Wales) and John Doubleday (England), viewed video footage of the incident, listened to evidence and representations from and on behalf of the player, and reviewed all of the other evidence.
The Disciplinary Committee found that Mr Fekitoa's actions would have warranted a red card, albeit that he had acted recklessly rather than intentionally.
When considering sanction, the Disciplinary Committee concluded that the offending merited a low-end entry point based on World Rugby's scale of seriousness, which carries a two-week playing suspension.
The Disciplinary Committee further found that there were no aggravating factors and that there were a number of mitigating factors (including Mr Fekitoa's immediate acknowledgement of wrongdoing, his previous clean disciplinary record and his good conduct at the hearing) such that his playing suspension be reduced to one week.
Mr Fekitoa is therefore suspended from playing rugby for a total of one week, up to and including Sunday 27 November 2016.
Following the results of the hearings, there have been further discussions from New Zealand, with Jeff Wilson and Ian Jones stating that they don't feel the 'All Blacks are dirty' feeling is fair.
"The All Blacks play rugby on the edge.. They go into a game with a physicality that is needed in a contact sport," said former New Zealand lock Jones on The Breakdown.
"They go in there with a mental toughness to take everything to where they have to. They don't do anything reckless to win at all costs, but they put their bodies on the line to win at all costs. I'm astounded by the accusations."