Banned - Cian Healy decision cold comfort for Exeter Chiefs fans
Leinster Rugby prop Cian Healy has been suspended for three weeks following his yellow card independent Disciplinary Hearing.
Healy was sin binned by referee Pascal Gauzère during his side's Champions Cup, Round 4 match against Exeter Chiefs at the Aviva Stadium for charging into a ruck in the 17th minute of the match in contravention of Law 10.4 (h).
What's more, the disciplinary committee believes it warranted a red card.
Law 10.4 (h) Charging into a ruck or maul
Under World Rugby's Sanctions for Foul Play, Law 10.4 (h) carries the following sanction entry points - Low End: 2 weeks; Mid-range: 6 weeks; Top end: 10 to 52 weeks.
An independent Disciplinary Committee consisting of Gareth Graham (England), Chairman, Rod McKenzie (Scotland) and Leon Lloyd (England) heard evidence and submissions by video conference from Healy, who pleaded guilty to the offence, from the player's legal representative, Derek Hegarty, from Leinster Rugby's Head of Rugby Operations, Guy Easterby, and from the EPCR Disciplinary Officer, Liam McTiernan.
The Committee upheld the citing complaint as it determined that Healy's act of foul play warranted a red card. It found that the offence was at the low end of World Rugby's sanctions and two weeks was selected as the appropriate entry point.
The Committee then added one week due to the player's recent poor disciplinary record and despite Healy's guilty plea, it was decided that there were insufficient mitigating factors present to warrant any reduction of the sanction.
A three-week suspension was therefore imposed and Healy is free to play on Monday, 8 January 2018. Both he and EPCR have the right to appeal the decision.
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Spot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in time… he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
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