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South Africa flanker Schalk Burger has had his four-game suspension reduced to two, although he will still miss Friday's crucial Rugby World Cup match against England.
Burger was cited for a high tackle on Samoa halfback Junior Polu in the Springboks' 59-7 win on Sunday. The blindside flanker caught Polu across the face with a forearm jolt as the Samoan jumped to catch a high ball in the first half of the Group A match at the Parc des Princes, and was penalised by referee Paul Honiss.
The initial suspension covered South Africa's remaining three group games against England, Tonga and the United States and a quarterfinal match, assuming South Africa qualifies.
After an appeal hearing in Paris on Thursday, a RWC committee decided to halve the length of the ban so that he will be able to face the Americans in Montpellier September 30, the Associated Press reported today.
The RWC issued a statement saying the committee decided that the judicial officer who imposed the four-game ban had been wrong to find that the player was not at any time during the incident intending to win the ball.
"On the basis of the video evidence and the transcript of the initial hearing, the Appeal Committee decided that the player was attempting to win the ball for a significant part of the time involved," the statement said.
"However, the Committee found that the player ultimately realized that he was not going to catch the ball and instinctively adjusted his approach to tackle the opposing player."
The committee concluded that the tackle was a dangerous tackle but noted that Burger's arm was withdrawn following contact with Polu, AP reported.
The committee decided the offence should be categorised as a lower level offence.
