Flanker in clear after stamping allegation

Wairarapa-Bush rugby flanker Joss Tua-Davidson has been cleared of foul play after being sent from the field late in his side's Heartland championship match with Mid-Canterbury at Memorial Park, Masterton last Saturday.
Tua-Davidson was red-carded by Bay of Plenty referee Nick Briant after assistant referee Chris Jefferies of Masterton alerted him to an incident which apparently occurred at a maul deep in Mid-Canterbury territory.
Under NZRFU rules any player who receives a red card faces an automatic judicial hearing and Tua-Davidson's day in "court" came in Wellington on Wednesday when he appeared before NZRFU judicial officer Peter Hobbs, charged with allegedly having stamped on the head of a Mid-Canterbury opponent.
Tua-Davidson denied the charge and after reviewing all the evidence, including video replays, Hobbs was not satisfied the allegation had been proved and ruled in Tua-Davidson's favour.
Wairarapa-Bush coach Kelvin Tantrum was delighted with the decision, saying that while Tua-Davidson was an aggressive player who relished a physical confrontation he was not the sort to resort to taking the law into his own hands.
"We were always very optimistic the evidence would show he had done nothing wrong ," Tantrum said., quickly adding his comments should not be seen as a cheap shot at the match officials.
"Referees and assistant referees have a job to do and when they believe something untoward has happened they are duty bound to rule on it, it's as simple as that," Tantrum said. "In this case they got it wrong and that will always happen from time to time.".
On the same day Tua-Davidson was charged Tasman lock John Wheeler was found by Hobbs to have been guilty of stamping on an Otago player in an Air NZ Cup match played at Carisbrook last weekend. However, no period of suspension was imposed on Wheeler.