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Jordie Barrett red card dismissed following SANZAAR judicial hearing
By Alex McLeod
All Blacks fullback Jordie Barrett's red card has been dismissed by a SANZAAR judicial committee following his send off in last weekend's clash against the Wallabies in Perth.
Barrett was issued a red card by Damon Murphy midway through the first half of the third and final Bledisloe Cup match of the year at Optus Stadium after he struck Wallabies wing Marika Koroibete in the face with the studs on his boot while receiving a kick.
The incident caused an uproar as debate brewed over whether the correct decision had been made given the innocuous nature of Barrett's offence.
The SANZAAR judicial committee - made up of Robert Stelzner SC, De Wet Barry and Jose Luis Rolandi - have reached the conclusion that Barrett's indiscretion was unintentional while he fronted a judicial hearing on Tuesday night.
As a result, the judicial committee found Barrett not guilty of contravening Law 9.11, which stipulates that players must not do anything that is reckless or dangerous to others.
"Having conducted a detailed review of all the available evidence, including all camera angles and additional evidence, including from the player, a medical report on the opposition player involved, and from two expert witnesses, and having considered the submissions from his legal representative, Stephen Cottrell, the judicial committee found that the player had not transgressed Rule 9.11 and had therefore not committed an act of foul play," Stelzner, the judicial committee chair, said in a statement.
"He legitimately went up in the air to collect a high ball, when in trying to regain his balance on the downward trajectory, his boot inadvertently made contact with his opponent’s head.
"The accidental nature of the incident lead the judicial committee to find that there was no intentional nor reckless act of dangerous play, with the result that the red card is expunged from the player’s record."
SANZAAR's verdict means Barrett will be free for selection as early as this weekend, when the All Blacks take on Los Pumas at Cbus Super Stadium on the Gold Coast on Sunday.
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Latest Comments
Yes I was surprised at how close the pen count was - the spread between best and worst being just 2. The number of yellow cards though will surely be something the Boks will look to address
Go to commentsBriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiistol! Briiiiiiiiiiiiiiiistol! Briiiiiiiiiiiiiiiistol!
It's incredible to see the boys playing like this. Back to the form that saw them finish on top of the regular season and beat Toulon to win the challenge cup. Ibitoye and Ravouvou doing a cracking Piutau/Radradra impression.
It's abundantly clear that Borthwick and Wigglesworth need to transform the England attack and incorporate some of the Bears way. Unfortunately until the Bears are competing in Europe, the old criticisms will still be used.. we failed to fire any punches against La Rochelle and Leinster which goes to show there is still work to do but both those sides are packed full of elite players so it's not the fairest comparison to expect Bristol to compete with them. I feel Bristol are on the way up though and the best is yet to come. Tom Jordan next year is going to be obscene.
Test rugby is obviously a different beast and does Borthwick have enough time with the players to develop the level of skill the Bears plays have? Even if he wanted to? We should definitely be able to see some progress, Scotland have certainly managed it. England aren't going to start throwing the ball around like that but England's attack looks prehistoric by comparison, I hope they take some inspiration from the clarity and freedom of expression shown by the Bears (and Scotland - who keep beating us, by the way!). Bristol have the best attack in the premiership, it'd be mad for England to ignore it because it doesn't fit with the Borthwick and Wigglesworth idea of how test rugby should be played. You gotta use what is available to you. Sadly I think England will try reluctantly to incorporate some of these ideas and end up even more confused and lacking identity than ever. At the moment England have two teams, they have 14 players and Marcus Smith. Marcus sticks out as a sore thumb in a team coached to play in a manner ideologically opposed to the way he plays rugby, does the Bears factor confuse matters further? I just have no confidence in Borthers and Wiggles.
Crazy to see the Prem with more ball in play than SR!
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