'Coat hanger' costs Hoeata six weeks
Cardiff Blues lock Jarrad Hoeata will miss the remainder of his club's European commitments, after he was banned for six weeks for his high tackle on Rob Kearney last weekend.
The All Black lock was sent off for the tackle on Kearney, as he caught the fullback round the neck.
A disciplinary committee – chaired by Achille Reali (Italy), along with Rhian Williams (Wales) and Barry O'Driscoll (Ireland) – viewed footage of the incident and listened to representations made by and on behalf of the player.
They found that the incident was at the mid-range of the World Rugby sanctions for this type of offence, carrying a six-week sanction.
The Committee applied an additional two weeks to reflect World Rugby's requirement for a measure of deterrence for this type of offence.
In the absence of any other aggravating factors and in light of several mitigating factors, including the player's acceptance of the red card and his conduct at the hearing, the disciplinary committee applied a two-week reduction from the entry point and suspended the player from playing for six weeks.
Jarrad Hoeata is free to resume playing from Monday, February 23 and has the right of appeal.
The Blues play Rovigo in a Challenge Cup match at Arms Park this coming Friday and travel to France for an encounter with Grenoble eight days later. They then return to the Pro12 competition – where the second row forward will also miss the Blues' encounters with Munster and Benetton Treviso.
Law 10.4 (e): Dangerous tackling. A player must not tackle (or try to tackle) an opponent above the line of the shoulders even if the tackle starts below the line of the shoulders. A tackle around the opponent's neck or head is dangerous play.
* Meanwhile, after considering all the options and taken considerable advice, including legal, Leinster confirmed that they will not be appealing the decision by the Pro12 disciplinary committee to suspend Jack McGrath for three weeks – effectively ruling him out of the two Champions Cup, Pool Two games this weekend and next.
