SYDNEY ¨C Australia loose-forward David Pocock has been suspended for three weeks after pleading guilty to a charge of playing an opponent without the ball in the ACT Brumbies¡¯ 48-23 Super Rugby loss to the Waikato Chiefs on Saturday.
Pocock grasped the neck of Chiefs No. 8 Michael Leitch in a maul six minutes from the end of the game, leaving the Japan skipper stricken on the ground, but did not receive any sanction from Australian referee Angus Gardner.
The 27-year-old will only miss two Super Rugby matches, away against the Waratahs (April 16) and home to the Canterbury Crusaders (April 24), as the Canberra-based side has a bye this coming weekend.
¡°With respect to sanction, I deemed the act of foul play merited a low-end entry point of two weeks,¡± (governing body) SANZAAR duty judicial officer Adam Cassleden said in a statement on Tuesday.
¡°I then added one week for aggravation due to the need to deter this type of dangerous foul play. The player is free to resume playing on April 25.¡±
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.