Henderson cleared for Ulster run-in
Ulster back row forward Iain Henderson has been cleared to continue playing for his province, as the Irish outfit head into the final round of Pro12 action.
Henderson appeared before a Pro12 disciplinary committee, following the red card he received for striking with the head in the Pro12 match against Munster at Kingspan Stadium, Belfast, last Saturday, May 9.
The disciplinary committee, chaired by Roger Morris, along with Rhian Williams and Ray Wilton (all from Wales), having viewed the footage of the incident and listened to representations by and on behalf of Henderson, decided that the act did not warrant a red card.
Having viewed the incident in close-up (which the match referee had not been able to do at the time), the disciplinary committee concluded that the player's initial contact with his opponent had not in fact been with his head but with his arm.
The disciplinary committee imposed no sanction on the player, who is free to resume playing immediately.
* Benetton Treviso scrumhalf Edoardo Gori was not so lucky.
Gori also appeared before a Pro12 disciplinary committee, following the red card he received for a dangerous tackle in the Pro12 match between Leinster and Benetton Treviso in Dublin last Friday – May 8.
The same disciplinary committee, having viewed the footage of the incident and listened to the player's representations, re-categorised the offence under Law 10.4(j) (lifting a player from the ground and dropping or driving that player into the ground whilst the 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) and upheld the red card.
The disciplinary committee noted the involvement of one of Gori's teammates in the tackle and decided that Gori's actions had been reckless rather than intentional.
They considered his actions to have been at the lower end of World Rugby's range of sanctions, with an entry point of a four-week suspension.
The disciplinary committee considered the need for a deterrent to be reflected in the sanction in accordance with World Rugby's various memoranda on the subject and increased the entry point by one week.
The disciplinary committee then allowed two weeks reduction for mitigating factors and accordingly imposed a three-week suspension on Gori.
Due to the requirement for the sanction to have meaningful consequences, and specifically to take account of the close season, the disciplinary committee held that the suspension should end on Sunday, August 30, with the player ruled out of the final Pro12 match of the season, together with two of Italy's international matches prior to the 2015 World Cup.
The player has the right of appeal.
