Wiese's hearing delay leaves Bok camp baffled
DISCIPLINARY UPDATE: Springboks head coach Jacques Nienaber has been left perplexed, following the delay in Jasper Wiese’s SANZAAR instituted disciplinary hearing.
Speaking during the virtual media briefing, Nienaber said he was forced to leave No.8 Wiese out of the team due to a 24-hour delay in the rookie’s hearing.
Wiese was cited for foul play, following his team’s 17-30 loss to the Wallabies in Round Four of the Rugby Championship.
The 25-year-old received a yellow card for a clean-out on Samu Kerevi in the closing stages of last Saturday’s game.
However, on Monday the citing commissioner revealed that they believed the incident met the red-card incident threshold.
“Jasper is unfortunately only having his hearing tonight [Tuesday],” Nienaber said during the Springbok team announcement media briefing.
“According to the timeline, it should have happened yesterday [Monday].
“However, for reasons not in our control, it could only happen tonight. So he was not up for selection,”
The coach explained that while all other judicial procedures were followed, Wiese’s hearing did not occur within the prescribed timeframe.
The Springboks coach was under the impression Wiese’s hearing will take place on Monday, given Jordie Barrett’s disciplinary hearing early in September which saw the All Blacks star cleared after he was sent off during the first half of his team’s 38-21 win over the Wallabies.
Barrett’s hearing took place on a Monday and ensured the utility back had time to train with his team for their Rugby Championship clash against the Los Pumas.
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“He was cited within the specific and correct time. So we knew he was cited in the correct time,” Nienaber explained.
“But the issue was with the hearing’s timeline.
“There is a whole time frame of where what should be met and everything happened according to the time frame that was put out on Friday.
“[A few weeks ago] in the Barrett incident, his hearing was on the Monday at 17.00 [local time]. Our hearing should have been on Monday at 17.00.
“Thus, if the player is found not guilty, he was still up for selection.
“But for some or other reason, the people who had to sit on the judicial committee weren’t available at 17.00 [local time] on Monday.
“So the hearing only happens tonight [Tuesday].
“We only have one training and a captain’s run before we play the Test match – it just made it impossible for us to select Jasper,”
Nienaber added: “I’m not 100 percent sure why timelines weren’t met with us, but they were met with similar incidents two weeks ago when Australia played against New Zealand.
“I am sure SANZAAR will come back to us on that.”
* Meanwhile, since the team announcement SANZAAR confirmed that Wiese has been cleared to play.
The SANZAAR foul play review committee was held via video conference on Tuesday – chaired by Michael Heron, Helen Morgan and Chris Smith.
In his finding, Heron found that the player had not committed an act of foul play and no further sanction will be imposed.
The 25-year-old is free to play.
“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 having considered the submissions from his legal representative, Attie Heyns, the Judicial Committee found that the Player had not committed an act of foul play worthy of the red card threshold,”
The Springboks will face the All Blacks on Saturday, September 25 in Townsville.
