Springbok loose forward Pieter-Steph du Toit has been suspended for three weeks after appearing before an independent judicial committee on Wednesday morning.
Du Toit has been suspended after receiving a red card for an act of foul play contrary to Law 9.12 (a player must not physically or verbally abuse anyone) in South Africa’s Test against France last Saturday.
Stephen Hardy, from Australia, was in charge of the independent Disciplinary Committee. Former international coach Frank Hadden, from Scotland, and former international John Langford, from Australia, were also on the committee. They heard the case and looked at all the evidence, including broadcasts from different angles and statements from the player and his representative.
The judicial committee looked at Du Toit’s lawyer’s request that the charge be changed to Law 9.11 and agreed with it (players must not do anything that is reckless or dangerous to others including leading with the elbow or forearm).
Du Toit said that he hadn’t done anything bad enough to get a red card. But after looking at all of the evidence and hearing what the player and his lawyer had to say before and during the hearing, the judicial committee decided that the player had broken the rules and should get a red card, based on World Rugby’s Head Contact Process.
The Disciplinary Committee found that the player’s actions were “reckless” and not intentional or deliberate. There were some outside factors that may have contributed to the incident, but the evidence presented to the Disciplinary Committee did not show that they were important enough to change the offense to something less serious than a red card.
Since Du Toit hit a player in the head, the judicial committee used World Rugby’s mandatory minimum mid-range entry point for foul play in violation of Law 9.11 that led to head contact. This led to a starting point of being banned for six weeks/matches.
Due to mitigating factors, such as Du Toit’s remorse, contrition, exemplary prior disciplinary record, and behavior during the hearing, the judicial committee cut the six-week/match entry point by three weeks/matches. This resulted in a three-week/match punishment, which will be served as follows, given the player’s upcoming schedule:
Du Toit was given permission to apply to take part in the Coaching Intervention Programme, which, if completed, would allow him to replace the last match of his punishment with a coaching session meant to fix specific techniques and technical problems that led to the foul play. The player can appeal the full written decision within 48 hours of receiving it.
