BANNED: Glasgow Warriors star punished for poor disciplinary record

NEWS: Experienced playmaker Adam Hastings won’t feature for Glasgow Warriors until the United Rugby Championship play-offs after he picked up a two-match suspension.

The 29-year-old was the subject of three temporary suspensions in URC matches over the course of three months.

He received yellow cards for dangerous tackles in his side’s 26-21 victory over Zebre on January 24 (incident one) and the 12-48 defeat to the Stormers on April 25 (incident three).

Hastings also received a yellow card for retaliation in his side’s 38-17 win over Leinster on March 21 (incident two)

In a statement from Judicial Officer Simon Thomas (Wales), Hastings has been “sanctioned for persistent offending, rather than for the substantive offences”.

He will now miss Glasgow’s home game against Cardiff on Friday as well as the final-round clash against Ulster in Belfast on May 15.

The story continues below…

Read the full disciplinary statement from Judicial Officer Simon Thomas (Wales) below:

Incidents 1 and 3 were both acts of foul play involving dangerous tackles where the Player failed to lower his height/body angle in the tackle, made no real attempt to affect a wrap of his arms, resulting in his shoulder making significant contact with the head of an opponent. In both these incidents, World Rugby’s Head Contact Process was clearly engaged.

Incident 2 was an act of foul play classified as Law 9.21 (retaliation). It occurred following a Glasgow try with the Player rubbing the head of an opponent and pushing him in what was unsportsmanlike conduct. This caused a reaction from the player who was pushed. The incident further developed into a very unpleasant melee involving a large number of players from both sides.

Approach to Sanction

In a totting up cases the determination of sanction is a matter of discretion for the Judicial Officer and the Player falls to be sanctioned for persistent offending, rather than for the substantive offences. Therefore, the World Rugby sanctions table for foul play (found at Appendix 9 to the Rules) are not to be applied and a 2015 World Rugby memorandum issued by the then World Rugby Judicial Panel Chairman, Mr Tim Gresson, states that guideline sanctions of between one and three weeks is considered appropriate depending on the seriousness of the offending. This memorandum has not been withdrawn and is still in force.

Sanction in this Case

Incidents 1 and 3 had similar features involving reckless contact between the Player’s shoulder and the head of an opponent where there was no attempt to lower body height and no attempt to wrap. These acts of foul play were in relatively short succession (about three months). Incident 3 could have reached the red card threshold for the reasons stated above.

The second incident was unpleasant. It was an intentional act. It caused order to break down on the field of play and could have affected the remainder of the match.

Taking all these matters into account, the Player’s disciplinary record, and the Player’s admission in that he did not seek to challenge any of the yellow cards, I consider his conduct was moderately serious. The two dangerous tackles had concerning similar features with no attempt to wrap with the arms. I determine the appropriate sanction is a suspension from the game of rugby union of two weeks, which, based upon the Player’s playing schedule, incorporates the following matches:

Glasgow Warriors v Cardiff Rugby, Saturday May 8, URC
Ulster Rugby v Glasgow Warriors, Saturday May 15, URC