Bulls lock banned for 4 weeks

Cape Town - Bulls lock RG Snyman has been banned for four weeks after being found guilty of foul play during his side’s 17-10 Super Rugby defeat to the Highlanders in Pretoria at the weekend.

SANZAAR’s foul play review committee accepted a guilty plea from Snyman of the Bulls for contravening Law 10.4(h) - A player must not charge into a ruck or maul.

Snyman has been suspended from all forms of the game for four weeks, up to and including Friday, June 9.

However, due to the upcoming Super Rugby break, the ban effectively only rules Syman out for two matches - the Bulls’ fixtures against the Lions (Johannesburg, May 20) and Hurricanes (Pretoria, May 27).

The incident, for which Snyman was red-carded, occurred in the 71st minute of the match at Loftus Versfeld last Saturday.

The SANZAAR foul play review committee of Nigel Hampton (chairperson), Stefan Terblanche and Stephen Hardy assessed the case.

In his finding, Hampton ruled the following:

"Having conducted a detailed review of all the available evidence, including all camera angles and additional evidence, including from the player and submissions from his legal representative, Marius Botha, the foul play review committee upheld the citing under Law 10.4(h).
 
"With respect to sanction the foul play review committee deemed the act of foul play merited a mid-range entry point of six weeks primarily due to the dangerous nature of the act and the direct contact with the opponent's head. However, taking into account mitigating factors including the player's good judicial record and early guilty plea, the foul play review committee reduced the suspension to four weeks.

"The player is therefore suspended for four weeks, up to and including Friday, June 9, 2017.”

All SANZAAR disciplinary matters are in the first instance referred to the foul play review committee 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 foul play review committee.