(Reuters) – The governing body of southern hemisphere rugby has said South African centre Damian de Allende should not have been sent off during the Rugby Championship loss to New Zealand in Cape Town on Saturday.
De Allende was shown a red card in the dying minutes of the 25-24 defeat for a late tackle on Lima Sopoaga, but SANZAAR’s Foul Play Review Committee found the tackle did not warrant a sending off, meaning the player will avoid suspension.
“Having conducted a detailed review… the Foul Play Review Committee found that… the act of foul play committed only came close to warranting a Red Card, and therefore a Warning (equivalent to a Yellow Card) was issued instead,” committee chairman Nigel Hampton said in his findings.
“The charge was late and the player had time to pull out before colliding with his opponent.
“However, the collision was not effected with a great deal of force, with the initial contact being made with the player’s forearm on the opponent’s chest, from whence the arm rose up to make contact, again not forceful, onto the opponent’s neck.”
The win over South Africa allowed the All Blacks to end their victorious Rugby Championship campaign with a 100 percent record.
(Writing by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru; Editing by John O’Brien)
