Grant Williams of Cell C Sharks was suspended by a Panel after his red card in the United Rugby Championship Round 12 game against Vodacom Bulls on Saturday, February 12, 2022.
The Player was shown a red card by referee AJ Jacobs in the 61st minute of the game under 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 an opponent above the line of the shoulders even if the tackle starts below the line of the shoulders.
A Disciplinary Panel considered all of the evidence available and concluded that the referee’s decision to issue the red card was not wrong and so upheld the red card. Given that there had been contact to the head of his opponent, the entry point for the sanction was a minimum of mid-range.
The Panel considered that the Player’s previous record and behaviour during the process entitled him to mitigation. However, as the player did not accept that the act of foul play warranted a Red Card, the Panel determined that he was not entitled to full (50%) mitigation.
Subsequently the Player has successfully taken part in the World Rugby HPC Coaching Intervention process, where a Player can undergo a coaching session to modify their technique or behaviours. This process is overseen by an independent expert coaching review group, which has reduced the ban by a further week.
The Player is now free to play as of Sunday, March 6, 2022 and can be selected for Cell C Sharks fixture with Scarlets.
