Hooper wins in SANZAR appeal case
The SANZAR appeal against his one-week ban was dismissed.
This means the Wallaby flank has been cleared to play against the All Blacks in the Rugby Championship decider.
The 23-year-old was found last week to have struck Argentinian flyhalf Nicolas Sanchez in the 59th minute of a match on July 25 in Mendoza.
He was slapped on the wrist – given a one-week ban, which supposedly ruled him out of a club game this past weekend, which all right-minded people knew he was not going to play in anyway.
Rugby Championship organisers SANZAR appealed the decision, saying it was too lenient – while the Australian Rugby Union appealed on the basis that the ban was made in error.
However, a SANZAR appeals committee maintained the week-long suspension as it dismissed both appeals.
The ban ruled Hooper out of a domestic game with Manly this past Saturday, but not Australia's Rugby Championship match against New Zealand this coming Saturday, August 8, in Sydney.
"Glad it's wrapped up and I can really look forward to this week and moving forward into the first Bledisloe," Hooper said in comments published by the ARU on its website.
"It's been a little bit tough but I have been preparing as if I've been right to play and I'll be trying to get into the team for this week."
The SANZAR appeals committee was chaired by Jannie Lubbe (South Africa) and comprised Terry Willis (Australia) and Mike Heron (New Zealand).
The Committee dismissed the ARU appeal on behalf of Hooper on the basis that the appellant was unable to show that the judicial officer erred in law in finding that Hooper's striking of Nicolas Sanchez from Argentina was a breach of Law 10.4 (a).
The Committee also dismissed the appeal brought by SANZAR that the judicial officer's sanction of one week was unduly lenient.
The committee found the judicial officer was correct in the exercise of his discretion that the offending was low-end.
