All Black Hore banned for five weeks

Updated November 29, 2012 08:59:53

New Zealand hooker Andrew Hore will miss this weekend's international against England at Twickenham after receiving a five-week ban for striking Wales lock Bradley Davies.

Hore's suspension will run until February 24 next year to ensure he misses three preseason Super Rugby matches for the Highlanders.

Davies was taken to hospital after he was hit from behind by Hore inside the opening minute of the All Blacks' 33-10 win over Wales at the Millennium Stadium last Sunday (AEST).

International Rugby Board judicial officer Lorne Crerar ruled Hore's swinging arm was "inherently dangerous" but accepted the All Blacks hooker had not "intended" to make contact with Davies' head.

Crerar was initially minded to give Hore an eight-week ban for a 'top-end' offence of this type, but reduced the suspension to five weeks when taking into account such mitigating factors as the New Zealander's daily contact with Davies since the incident.

AFP

Tags: rugby-union, sport, wales, united-kingdom

First posted November 29, 2012 07:03:46

View the original article here

Waratah Horne suspended for two weeks

Updated April 22, 2012 19:15:20

New South Wales centre Rob Horne was suspended for two Super Rugby matches on Sunday for his lifting tackle on Melbourne full-back Kurtley Beale.

Horne was cited by SANZAR for his dangerous tackle in Saturday night's 30-21 win, which sparked a series of tweets from Queensland counterparts Digby Ioane and Quade Cooper, who claimed their Wallabies team-mate should be rubbed out for a lengthy period.

In discussions with the Waratahs on Sunday, the SANZAR judicial officer initially gave Horne a four-week suspension, but that was scaled back to two because of his good record and an early guilty plea.

Horne might consider him lucky, after Ioane was handed a five-week suspension for a dangerous tackle of his own back in round four against the Sharks - which many thought was excessive.

SANZAR chief executive Greg Peters said Ioane and Cooper will not be sanctioned for tweeting their opinions on Saturday night on how long Horne should spend on the sidelines.

Peters said Super Rugby players needed to be cautious about what they post on social media but, in SANZAR's view, Ioane and Cooper did not break the code of conduct.

The governing body's chief executive said the tweets from the Queenslanders were in "a game context" and "didn't cross the line."

Ioane was embroiled in a Twitter controversy last year when he tweeted "worst ref ever" after the Reds lost a close match in Wellington.

On Saturday night, he wrote that Horne's lifting tackle on Melbourne star Kurtley Beale was worth six-eight weeks, while Cooper chipped in that he thought the incident deserved 10 weeks.

Waratahs captain Benn Robinson said he thought the comments made by Ioane and Cooper, surprisingly about their Wallabies team-mate Horne, could well have landed them in strife.

"I think contractually those boys might get in a bit of trouble there," Robinson told Triple M.

"It's not disappointing. It's just a bit of a shock to me that those boys would jump on there straight away and make those comments."

New South Wales coach Michael Foley said as far as he was concerned, the Twitter drama was "irrelevant" and the Waratahs were focused solely on the judiciary process which has now been completed.

The Waratahs say they need another 24 hours to determine the extent of full-back Bernard Foley's shoulder injury.

Foley did not return for the second half on Saturday night after he came off second best in an attempted tackle on Rebels winger Lachlan Mitchell.

"We won't find out until tomorrow. He's had scans and we're just waiting for the results and the specialist's opinion.

"He's seen our medical staff this morning but we need another 24 hours before we can be more certain how that's pulling up.

"He felt better on (Sunday) morning which is positive."

Michael Foley said if his namesake was not fit to face the Crusaders this week, he would consider shifting playmaker Berrick Barnes back to number 15.

AAP

Tags: super-rugby, rugby-union, sport, sydney-2000, australia, nsw

First posted April 22, 2012 15:17:39

View the original article here

Force star to miss six weeks

Updated April 05, 2012 18:38:41

The Western Force are pinning their hopes on Ben Seymour to flourish in the key playmaker's role after James Stannard was ruled out for the next six weeks with an ankle injury.

Stannard had a pin inserted into his ankle on Thursday after suffering the injury early in last week's 45-19 win over the Queensland Reds.

Five-eighth Seymour was solid after replacing Stannard at the 15-minute mark, and will be handed his first Super Rugby start in Friday night's clash with the Chiefs in Perth.

The inclusion of 21-year-old Seymour was the only change to the Force's starting line-up, with former Brumbies and Waratahs half-back Josh Holmes named on the bench after signing for the rest of the season.

Utility back Patrick Dellit has recovered from a leg injury and will join Holmes on the pine, but Cameron Shepherd (leg) and Fijian winger Napolioni Nalaga (ankle) miss out yet again.

Western Force coach Richard Graham was pleased with Seymour's performance against the Reds, and believed he gained invaluable confidence from the hit-out.

"Benny kicks the ball really well and he's quick, so he's able to challenge the line," Graham said on Thursday.

"And if you watched last week, his ability to shift the ball in attack will continue to give us some width in our game."

The Chiefs have won four of their five games this season, and Graham is all too aware of the attacking threat posed by All Blacks centre Sonny Bill Williams.

Williams' magical off-loads in the tackle have become a feature of his game.

But Graham has been working hard on plans to nullify Williams.

"You get a sniper from the stands to bring him down early," Graham joked.

"He's an incredibly good athlete and we've obviously got some plans for how we want to stop it.

"To stop the off-load, there's a couple of ways to do it; you either make a dominant tackle or you look to wrap up the ball.

"The players have been training throughout the season because, in every team, there's an individual who presents that."

The Chiefs, riding a four-game winning streak, welcome back hooker Mahonri Schwalger and winger Lelia Masaga to their starting line-up.

Western Force: David Harvey, Samu Wara, Nick Cummins, Winston Stanley, Alfie Mafi, Ben Seymour, Brett Sheehan, Matt Hodgson, David Pocock (capt), Richard Brown, Nathan Sharpe, Toby Lynn, Salesi Ma'afu, Nathan Charles, Pek Cowan. Res: Elvis Taione, Kieran Longbottom, Phoenix Battye, Ben McCalman, Josh Homes, Rory Sidey, Patrick Dellit.

Chiefs: Robbie Robinson, Lelia Masaga, Richard Kahui, Sonny Bill Williams, Tim Nanai-Williams, Aaron Cruden, Tawera Kerr-Barlow, Kane Thompson, Tanerau Latimer, Liam Messam, Brodie Retallick, Craig Clarke (capt), Ben Tameifuna, Mahonri Schwalger, Arizona Taumalolo. Res: Hika Elliot, Josh Hohneck, Michael Fitzgerald, Sam Cane, Augustine Pulu, Andrew Horrell, Jackson Willison.

AAP

Tags: sport, rugby-union, super-rugby, australia, wa, perth-6000

First posted April 05, 2012 14:45:44

View the original article here

Master the Basic Skills of Rugby in Eight Weeks!