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Harlequins centre Andre Esterhuizen banned for elbow strike
By PA
Harlequins centre Andre Esterhuizen has received a four-week suspension after he was sent off during their Gallagher Premiership victory over Gloucester.
Esterhuizen was dismissed early in the second half of last Sunday’s game for striking Gloucester fly-half Lloyd Evans, who failed a subsequent head injury assessment, in the face with his elbow.
The Rugby Football Union said that Esterhuizen accepted the charge and he was suspended by a three-man independent panel.
It means that he will miss Quins’ Heineken Champions Cup games against Munster and Racing 92, plus Premiership appointments with Bristol and Worcester, and can play again on January 5.
Exeter scrum-half Stu Townsend, meanwhile, has been banned for five weeks following a citing for dangerous play in a ruck or maul.
Townsend accepted the charge, which arose from Exeter’s Premiership match against Leicester four days ago.
Townsend’s shoulder made contact with the head of Leicester wing Harry Simmons.
Simmons sustained concussion, which was diagnosed in the days following the game after he displayed fresh symptoms at a training session.
The panel’s suspension sidelines Townsend from Champions Cup fixtures against Glasgow and Toulouse, and Premiership games against Gloucester, Wasps and Bristol. He can return to action on January 12.
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Latest Comments
Nothing to do with fair or unfair for me. Purely about results & the manner in which the ABs were losing. I was optimistic in 2020 but only 3 wins from 6 tests played soon dented that. By the time Schmidt & Ryan were recruited in 2022, the ABs & Foster were a laughing stock & their win rate was in the toilet. Thankfully Schmidt & Ryan helped turn the ABs fortunes somewhat.
The biggest issue I had with Cane as Skipper was his absence for nearly 50% of tests played. Through injury. Buck Shelford wrote an article on this very issue in 2021, suggesting Cane should relinquish the captaincy & concentrate on getting fit for selection.
Go to commentsI'm honestly not so sure. I initially thought just reckless mainly because no player should be capable of doing that intentionally.
There's a strong argument that he's working both the eyes. It's his left hand he uses which is furthest from the ball he's contesting. His fingers are also clenched which I don't think is a natural way to try and rip a ball.
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