Red-carded Zebo learns fate, Snyman agrees to Munster extension
Wednesday has turned out to be a very good news day for Munster as Simon Zebo has escaped a ban following his United Rugby Championship red card while Springboks lock RG Snyman is one of five players to agree to contract extensions at the province. There were fears that a suspension for Zebo would see him miss out on Ireland squad selection for the upcoming Guinness Six Nations.
However, a discipline committee hearing has cleared him for selection for this weekend’s Heineken Champions Cup assignment at Castres on Friday when he will look to show he has what it takes to catch the eye of Ireland boss Andy Farell.
Zebo, who agreed on a Munster contract extension at the start of this week, was re-carded last Saturday versus Ulster for a collision with Michael Lowry and a URC statement read: “The disciplinary panel of Declan Goodwin (chair, Wales), Frank Hadden and Sarah Smith (both Scotland) considered all of the evidence and camera angles available and concluded that the player’s actions did not result in foul play.
“In particular, on detailed examination of the video evidence, the panel determined that it was No10 of Munster who completes the tackle on Michael Lowry of Ulster, with Simon Zebo only making minimal contact whilst wrapping his left arm. As a result, the player is free to continue playing this weekend.”
Elsewhere, Munster announced that injured Springboks lock Snyman will remain with them for another two years despite speculation that he could follow soon-to-depart head coach Johann van Graan out of the club.
“World Cup-winning Springbok RG Snyman has signed a two-year deal that will see him remain with the province until at least June 2024,” read a Munster statement. “Despite enduring a difficult time with injuries since arriving at the province in the summer of 2020, the 26-year-old is well settled at his Limerick base.
“An out-and-out leader, he is highly regarded across the squad and already in four short appearances he has managed to display his athleticism and skill set, including a first try scored against the Stormers in Thomond Park.”
Munster also confirmed that props Stephen Archer (one year), Roman Salanoa (three years), Liam O’Connor (one year) and hooker Scott Buckley (two years) have also all committed their futures to the province.
Latest Comments
What’s new its a common occurrence, just the journos out there expecting a negative spin. The outcome will be beneficial to jordie and Leinster. The home grown lads hav got some experience to step up to and be more competitive, that or spend the 6 months keeping the bench warm.
Go to commentsI’m all for speeding up the game. But can we be certain that the slowness of the game contributed to fans walking out? I’m not so sure. Super rugby largely suffered from most fans only being able to, really, follow the games played in their own time zone. So at least a third of the fan base wasn’t engaged at any point in time. As a Saffer following SA teams in the URC - I now watch virtually every European game played on the weekend. In SR, I wouldn’t be bothered to follow the games being played on the other side of the world, at weird hours, if my team wasn’t playing. I now follow the whole tournament and not just the games in my time zone. Second, with New Zealand teams always winning. It’s like formula one. When one team dominates, people lose interest. After COVID, with SA leaving and Australia dipping in form, SR became an even greater one horse race. Thats why I think Japan’s league needs to get in the mix. The international flavor of those teams could make for a great spectacle. But surely if we believe that shaving seconds off lost time events in rugby is going to draw fans back, we should be shown some figures that supports this idea before we draw any major conclusions. Where are the stats that shows these changes have made that sort of impact? We’ve measured down to the average no. Of seconds per game. Where the measurement of the impact on the fanbase? Does a rugby “fan” who lost interest because of ball in play time suddenly have a revived interest because we’ve saved or brought back into play a matter of seconds or a few minutes each game? I doubt it. I don’t thinks it’s even a noticeable difference to be impactful. The 20 min red card idea. Agreed. Let’s give it a go. But I think it’s fairer that the player sent off is substituted and plays no further part in the game as a consequence.
Go to comments