REVEALED: Why red-carded Bull was banned
NEWS: The disputed red card of Blue Bulls prop Jacques van Rooyen will stand.
Van Rooyen was red-carded in the 47th minute of the Bulls’ 22-20 Currie Cup Round One win over Western Province at Newlands at the weekend.
He was sent off for a dangerous tackle on WP fullback Warrick Gelant.
The Bulls disputed the red card and Van Rooyen faced a disciplinary hearing on Tuesday.
He was declared in breach of Law 9.13: A player must not tackle an opponent early, late or dangerously. Dangerous tackling includes, but is not limited to, tackling or attempting to tackle and opponent above the line of the shoulders even if the tackle starts below the line of the shoulders.
He has subsequently handed a one-match ban and will not feature in this coming weekend’s Round Two encounter with the Cheetahs at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
In his finding the judicial officer said the infringement was considered “entry level” and for a variety of reasons on the “lower end of the scale of seriousness”.
There were also “mitigating factors”.
“The player’s legal representative and the player provided sufficient evidence of the mitigating factors to warrant a reduction in the sanction provided for in World Rugby regulations,” the judicial officer said.
“As such the red card is upheld and a two-week suspension is reduced to one week for the player.”
The red card caused a big stir, with Bulls coach Jake White suggesting it was NOT ‘justifiable’ as a red card.
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However, the hearing sided with referee AJ Jacobs – who said at the time of the incident there was “contact to the head with extreme danger and no mitigation”.
Bulls captain Duane Vermeulen, who questioned the call, was told there was no on-field video.
The Newlands’ in-stadium big screen was not operational.
Adding to the controversy was the broken communications between TMO Rasta Rasivhenge and the referee, Jacobs.
Rasivhenge initially suggested that it was only a yellow card offence.
However, after a discussion between the two officials, Jacobs ruled that it should be a red card.
Injured Bok prop Lizo Gqoboka is back in training, although there is uncertainty about his fitness.
Gerhard Steenekamp is also a handy replacement.
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