James Horwill
The Duty Judicial Officer has determined that no further sanction will be imposed upon James Horwill of the Reds after he was issued a red card during a Super Rugby match at the weekend.
Horwill was issued a yellow card on two separate occasions for infringements at the breakdown, and at the maul. These occurred in the 48th and 75th minutes in the match between the Brumbies and the Reds at GIO Stadium in Canberra on 13 February 2015, and he was shown a red card on the second occasion.
SANZAR Duty Judicial Officer Nicholas Davidson QC assessed the case and recorded the following:
“While no further sanction has been imposed, this is a warning to players and teams that the judiciary regards team warnings as a responsibility for all players to heed.
“The player knew of the general warning for breaches at the breakdown, then transgressed in the form of a technical infringement. He was off the field when the second general warning was given by the referee for infringing at the maul, but then re-offended upon his return.
“Regulation 17 does not require a sanction, but it may be imposed in the exercise of discretion, without a stipulated entry level.
“The Law is intended to reinforce the need for discipline when the referees direct their concern about repeated infringements. In this instance, the team paid a price in points scored during the period of the sin-binnings and I am satisfied the player was not aware of the second warning.
“This needs to be highlighted as players coming to and from the field so often may not know of the general warning. The captains and off-field team personnel must bear some responsibility to communicate these warnings.
“Horwill has a good disciplinary record and the breaches were not of such character, for example foul play, as to require sanction in this case.”
Duty Judicial Officer: Nicholas Davidson QC
Player: James Horwill
Team: Reds
Position: Lock
Date of Incident: 13 February 2015
Nature of Offence: 10.3 (b) Repeated infringements by the team and 10.3 (b) Repeated infringements by the team
Elapsed time in match when offence occurred: 48th and 75th minutes