Waratahs appeal suspensions

Cape Town - The Waratahs have appealed the suspensions handed down to hooker Silatolu Latu and lock Will Skelton after they were banned for a lifting tackle in Super Rugby action last weekend.

Both players were found guilty of contravening law 10.4 (j), Lifting Tackle, when they jointly tip-tackled the Crusaders’ Sam Whitelock.

The referee for the match, Marius van der Westhuizen, issued a yellow card to Latu, but Skelton remained on the field.

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

Latu was subsequently banned for four weeks, while Skelton received a two-week ban.

The Waratahs officials and legal representatives said they were surprised and disappointed with the outcome of the hearing and have decided to appeal.

 The appeal will be heard on Thursday.