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Juan Cruz Mallia suspended for 'reckless' charge down on Grant Williams
By Ian Cameron
Juan Cruz Mallia has been suspended for a charge down that resulted in the injury of Springbok scrumhalf Grant Williams.
The incident occurred in the opening moments of their Rugby Championship match at Emirates Airlines Park in Johannesburg last weekend.
Cruz Mallia made a charge down, successfully blocking a right-footed kick by the South African halfback. However, his follow-through resulted in a dangerous collision, hitting Williams in the head with his hip. Despite a stoppage due to a South African infringement, referee Andrew Brace ruled that Mallia was committed to the collision after touching the ball, and therefore, it was not considered foul play.
Following the match, Mallia was cited and subsequently found guilty of contravening Law 9.11, which states that players must not engage in anything reckless or dangerous that could harm others. The case was assessed by the SANZAAR Judicial Committee, led by Chairman Nigel Hampton KC, alongside David Croft and Ofisa Tonu’u.
After a detailed review of all available evidence, including multiple camera angles and additional statements from the player, the Argentinian coach, and the match referee, the Judicial Committee upheld the citing under Law 9.11.
In his ruling, Chairman Nigel Hampton KC stated that the act of foul play was reckless and carried a high degree of danger, resulting in a considerable impact on the victim player. The Committee took into account all relevant factors from World Rugby’s Head Contact Process and sanctioning table. However, they also considered the evidence presented by both the referee and the coach, regarding the view of match officials on charge downs and coaching practices related to such actions.
Ultimately, the Committee decided that imposing a mid-range sanction would be disproportionate to the player’s fault, leading them to settle on a low-range entry point of two weeks' suspension. As a result, Juan Cruz Mallia has been suspended from all forms of the game up to and including 18 August 2023.
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Honestly, I am a bit lost here …. Ireland - RSA was (at least in my opinion) perhaps (from a purely technical / rugby-skills-show point of view) the pinnacle of the RWC2023 - almost flawless playing (putting aside the kicking of RSA which was the difference between the two teams), rugby at it’s very best …. if I were a Bok and after the game some Irish lads came around saying “see you in 5 weeks same place”, I definitely wouldn’t have thought of it as being in any way “arrogant”, rather a sort of jolly “if we both continue to play like this, no one could stop us” - besides, few of us fans would have, at that time, been surprised to see the same teams playing on 23 september and 28 october 2023 ….. well, we all know Ireland chose to hit a slump to keep the QF curse alive …..
Go to commentsThere’s value gleaned from having an All Black star running and training with your team. How many games he starts (or even where he plays in the backline) will be decided on a week by week basis based on the needs for that week. But the overall learning and growth for all concerned, I’d think, is massively beneficial. Especially for Irish players.
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