Slipper cited for spear tackle
James Slipper of the Reds has been cited for foul play during his team's Super Rugby loss to the Blues in Auckland on Friday.
Slipper is charged with having contravened Law 10.4 (j): Lifting Tackle.
It happened when the Reds prop tackled Blues player Peter Saili long after the ball had been passed, lifted him beyond the horizontal and then drove him into the ground.
The incident, which occurred in the 35th minute of the match won 44-14 by the Blues, resulted in Slipper being yellow carded – after the referee for the match, Nick Briant, reviewed the incident with the TMO.
Upon further review of the match footage, the citing commissioner deemed – in his opinion – the incident had met the red card threshold for foul play.
The citing is to be considered in the first instance by SANZAR judicial officer Adam Casselden.
All SANZAR disciplinary matters are in the first instance referred to a judicial officer hearing, to provide the option of expediting the judicial process.
For a matter to be dispensed with at this hearing, the person appearing must plead guilty and accept the penalty offered by the judicial officer.
Nature of Offence: Law 10.4 (j): Lifting a player from the ground and dropping or driving that player into the ground whilst that player's feet are still off the ground such that the player's head and/or upper body come into contact with the ground is dangerous play.
