Size of penalty questioned

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

I am writing about the period of time that YMP player No.1 has been stood down after a recent game. I understand that he was stood down for four weeks for what seemed to those who witnessed it — a violent, unprovoked and intentional knee to the head (temple) of a Waikohu player.

I am not a lawyer or rugby expert but have done some reading. If I look at his actions according to the NZ Football Union Judicial Procedures, in my mind it would be: striking with knee MR (mid-range) as it was to the head, which gives a stand down period of eight weeks. There is no way his deliberate actions of standing up from a ruck and beginning to walk away, followed by walking back to the player on the ground and forcefully kneeing him in the head, is a LE (lower end offence).

The YMP player’s actions are intolerable. His intent was to injure the Waikohu player. This is not the culture we want to see in rugby. This sort of behaviour is the opposite of sportsmanship. We should not tolerate it.

Is four weeks enough to deter this player from doing this again?

D. White

Footnote from Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union CEO Ray Noble:

The judiciary panel is independent of the Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union so the judicial process is not prejudiced, influenced or compromised by the union. The role of the union within the process is to enforce the findings of the panel.

The writer is correct in stating that the entry point for this offence is eight games, however the panel were quite within their rights to reduce the penalty to four games (discount can be given up to 50 percent maximum) by considering the following mitigating factors outlined in NZ Rugby’s Disciplinary Rules — a) it was the offender’s first visit to the judiciary, and b) he showed extreme remorse.