The URC has defended the process that saw Ospreys winger Luke Morgan escape sanction for the incident that injured Sharks centre Ethan Hooker. LINDIZ VAN ZILLA reports.
At the end of the first half of the Sharks’ match against the Ospreys in Swansea in April, Hooker sprinted from deep inside his own half to score a try. Morgan, chasing in cover, appeared to dive onto Hooker after the ball had been grounded, leaving the 23-year-old with a dislocated shoulder.
The Sharks subsequently requested a review of the incident, only for the citing commissioner to rule that it did not meet the red-card threshold.
“The match officials independently reviewed it afterwards and came to the conclusion that a yellow card would probably have been appropriate,” URC head of match officials Tappe Henning explained during a media briefing on match officiating.
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URC head of communications Adam Redmond said the incident was never referred to the independent citing and disciplinary committees.
“The big question was around the citing commissioner,” he explained. “The way that works is that the citing commissioner has to find an incident worthy of a red card. That is how a citing moves into the disciplinary process.”
Redmond stressed the incident had not been ignored, despite criticism following the challenge.
“I think you’ll probably find every professional rugby match has incidents where a yellow card could have been produced, but the citing commissioner’s role is to determine whether a red-card offence occurred.”
Redmond added that reviews focus on the incident itself rather than the outcome in terms of injury or time sidelined.
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Henning, a former Test referee, also addressed the controversy surrounding Ulster lock Iain Henderson’s croc-roll cleanout on Deon Fourie, which resulted in a knee injury for the Stormers veteran.
“The croc roll is not allowed in the game,” Henning said. “The appropriate action was taken by the match officials to review it and determine whether it remained a yellow card or deserved a 20-minute red card.”
Henderson was shown a 20-minute red card after review and subsequently received a six-week ban, which was halved due to various mitigating factors, including a clean disciplinary record.
Henning stressed that the citing and disciplinary processes are completely independent of the URC itself.
“The disciplinary process is an absolute independent process, even independent from the URC,” said Henning. “The citing process is also independent and autonomous from match officiating.
“We respect the process and the detail discussed in disciplinary hearings,” he added. “The outcome is determined by professional people who have been involved in the game for a long time.”
Redmond admitted criticism often lands at the URC’s door, but insisted that independence is crucial.
“If competitions themselves get involved, it opens the door to accusations of bias,” he said.
The post Why Hooker incident didn’t result in red appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
The URC has defended the process that led to no citing for the controversial incident which saw Sharks and Springbok Ethan Hooker sidelined.
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