The SANZAR Duty Judicial Officer Adam Casselden has accepted a guilty plea from Bismarck du Plessis of the Sharks for contravening Law 10.4 (c) A player must not kick an opponent, after he was sent off following a Super Rugby match at the weekend.

Du Plessis has been suspended from all forms of the game for 4 weeks up to and including 18 April 2015.

The incident occurred in the 18th minute of the match between the Sharks and Chiefs played at Kings Park in Durban.

SANZAR Duty Judicial Officer Adam Casselden assessed the case.

In his finding, Casselden ruled the following:

“The player’s kick was pre-meditated, intentional and unprovoked.

“It was reckless, that is the player knew (or should have known) there was a risk of committing an act of foul play.

“In my opinion the offence was a grave one and the possibility of serious injury existed.

“The Chiefs’ No 8 was in a vulnerable position on the ground. He did not see the kick, even if he had, he had limited means available to him, given the position of his arms and body, to protect himself from the player’s actions.

“Whilst the player claims he was frustrated by Chiefs’ No 8 not releasing him from the tackle earlier that does not, in my opinion, entitle him to retaliate by kicking his opponent in the area of the head with a studded boot. The head is of course sacrosanct.

“Swart, the Player’s representative, submitted that the offence was in the lower end of seriousness, particularly given no injury was sustained by Chiefs’ No  8. I was unable to accede to that submission.

“Whilst it was fortunate that the player did not sustain an injury, he was nonetheless placed in a vulnerable position and the risk of him sustaining an injury to his head including in and around the eye area was clearly present.

“Accordingly, I found that the offence should be categorised as a mid-range offence and that the entry point of an 8-week suspension was the relevant starting point.

“I was informed that the player was suspended for 3 weeks in 2008 for dangerous contact to the head area of an opponent.

“Apart from that indiscretion, the player has not been found guilty of any foul play.

“In 2012 he received 2 Yellow Cards (turned into an automatic Red Card) in the one Test match between South Africa and New Zealand which resulted in him being ordered off the playing enclosure.

“At the subsequent judicial hearing there was a finding by the judicial officer that the referee’s decision to issue 1 of the Yellow Cards was wrong. As a result, the Red Card issued in that Test match was expunged from his record.

“Although the player was suspended 7 years ago for dangerous contact to the head of an opponent that does not, in my opinion, categorise the player as a repeat offender of the game to warrant any uplift on the entry point as an aggravating factor.

“Since 2008 it seems he has been a model player and in my opinion, no other aggravating factors existed for consideration other than those which were taken into account in determining the appropriate entry point.

“The player has played professional rugby for approximately 12 years.

“He has played 77 Test matches for South Africa, 125 Super Rugby matches and in the order of 47 Currie Cup matches.

“Apart from a 3 week suspension in 2008 the player’s disciplinary record is unblemished.

“This is his 1st Red Card offence in a lengthy first class playing career.

“I accepted that the player’s remorse and contrition for his offending was genuine and his acceptance that he committed an act of foul play at the earliest opportunity.

“Having regard to the above mitigating factors and the overall culpability of the player’s offending, I was satisfied that the 8 week entry point should be reduced to 4 weeks.

“Accordingly, I offered the player a 4 week suspension as a preliminary indication of penalty in accordance with the DJO process, which was accepted.”

“The player is suspended from all forms of rugby up to and including Saturday 18 April 2015.”

All SANZAR disciplinary matters are in the first instance referred to a duty judicial officer hearing to provide the option of expediting the judicial process.

For a matter to be dispensed with at this hearing, the person appearing must plead guilty and accept the penalty offered by the DJO.

Du Plessis’s opposite number, Hika Elliot, of the Chiefs, was also shown a Red Card and has been given a 1 week ban for an illegal shoulder charge at a ruck.

Elliot was charged with having contravened Law 10.4 (h): Dangerous Charging – a player must not charge into a ruck or maul. Charging includes any contact made without use of arms, or without grasping a player.

The incident occurred in the 16th minute of the match.

The case is to be considered in the first instance by SANZAR duty judicial officer Adam Casselden.

Cell C Sharks centre, Francois Steyn was also Red Carded and has been cited.

Francois Steyn of the Sharks received a Red Card for foul play during the match.

Steyn is alleged to have contravened Law 10.4 (j) Lifting a player from the ground, in an incident that occurred in the 28th minute of the match between the Sharks and Chiefs at Growthpoint Kings Park in Durban on 21 March 2015.

The case is to be considered in the first instance by SANZAR Duty Judicial Officer Adam Casselden.

All SANZAR disciplinary matters are in the 1st instance referred to a Duty Judicial Officer hearing to provide the option of expediting the judicial process.

For a matter to be dispensed with at this hearing, the person appearing must plead guilty and accept the penalty offered by the DJO.

Duty Judicial Officer: Adam Casselden
Player: Francois Steyn
Team: Cell C Sharks
Position: Centre
Date of Incident: 21 March 2015
Nature of Offence: 10.4 (j) Lifting a player from the ground and dropping or driving that player into the ground whilst that 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.
Elapsed time in match when offence occurred: 28th minute

Liam Messam has joined the other 3 Red Card receivers in the dock after he was cited for foul play.

Messam is charged with having contravened 10.4 (e): Dangerous Tackling.

Messam tackled Renaldo Bothma and executed a choke hold on the throat of Botha, causing Botha to gasp for air.

The incident occurred in the 18th minute of the match.

Upon review of the match footage, the citing commissioner deemed in his opinion the incident had met the Red Card threshold for foul play.

The citing is to be considered in the first instance by SANZAR duty judicial officer Adam Casselden.

All SANZAR disciplinary matters are in the 1st instance referred to a duty judicial officer hearing to provide the option of expediting the judicial process.

For a matter to be dispensed with at this hearing, the person appearing must plead guilty and accept the penalty offered by the DJO.

Duty Judicial Officer: Adam Casselden
Player: Liam Messam
Team: Chiefs
Position: Looseforward
Date of Incident: 21 March 2015
Nature of Offence: 10.4 (e) Dangerous Tackling.
Elapsed time in match when offence occurred: 18th minute