A SANZAAR Judicial Committee Hearing has declared Jacobus Van Wyk of the Hurricanes guilty of contravening Law 9.18: A player must not lift an opponent off the ground and drop or drive that player so that their head and/or upper body make contact with the ground, after he was cited during a Super Rugby Aotearoa match at the weekend.
Van Wyk pleaded guilty to the contravention and has been suspended for 3 weeks, up to and including Saturday 29 August 2020. "The Judicial Committee is aware of the issues involving the uncertainty of playing schedules as a result of the ongoing effects of Covid-19, and have accordingly reserved the right to revisit the sanction date in the event that the Player's schedule is subsequently impacted. ”
The incident occurred in the 36th minute of the match between the Hurricanes and Chiefs at Sky Stadium in Wellington on 8 August 2020.
The judgement effectively resulted in van Wyk to start packing his bags as he is set to join English Club Leicester at the end of the Super Rugby Aotearoa competition. The Super Rugby Aotearoa competition's final round of matches is to be played this weekend. Van Wyk will, therefore, miss the Hurricanes vs Highlanders game.