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Waratahs' Lachlan Swinton cops heavy ban for 'reckless' foul play

(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

Wallabies international Lachlan Swinton has copped a heavy ban for last Saturday’s cited Super Rugby Pacific tackle for the Waratahs. The 26-year-old back-rower clashed with Jake Strachan in the opening 30 seconds of the Sydney franchise’s 36-16 win. The tackle went unpunished at the time, but Swinton was cited and his subsequent suspension means he now won’t be able to play until June.

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A statement read: “A SANZAAR judicial committee hearing has found Lachlan Swinton of the NSW Waratahs guilty of contravening law 9.13 after he was cited following a Super Rugby Pacific match at the weekend. Swinton has been suspended for seven weeks, up to and including June 3.

“The incident occurred within the first minute of the match between Waratahs and Western Force, played at Allianz Stadium in Sydney on April 15. The judicial hearing, held via video conference on Tuesday, was heard by Helen Morgan (chair), Chris Smith and Ofisa Tonu’u.

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“In her finding, Morgan ruled: Having conducted a detailed review of all the available evidence, including all camera angles and additional evidence, including submissions from the player and his legal representative, Aaron Lloyd, the judicial committee upheld the citing under law 9.13.

“With respect to sanction, the judicial committee deemed the act of foul play was reckless, with the contact point directly made with the head, high force and no mitigating factors present.

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“The committee found the incident was highly dangerous and, after considering all relevant factors of World Rugby’s head contact process and sanctioning table, decided the foul play merited a top-end entry point of 10 weeks.

“Taking into account mitigating factors, including the player’s acceptance of guilt that the incident was foul play, conduct at the hearing and remorse, the judicial committee reduced the suspension by three weeks. The player is therefore suspended for seven weeks, up to and including June 3.”

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4 Comments
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Willie 563 days ago

If players are held to a high standard, so too should match officials, including the TMO. All 4 should be suspended after missing such blatant foul play. One of the Assistant Refs may possibly be excused, but not the other 3.

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Former 563 days ago

thats a pretty bad shot and follows on from his reckless shot in the final against the cheifs in 2021 that merited a red card. He, Tupou and Darcy Swain could be very costly choices for Eddie Jones if he takes them to France in October. Cheap shots don't compensate for talent....

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Andy 564 days ago

Just a thought on this one. It seems extremely convenient that it was missed in the game. If the Waratahs were down to 14 for the first 20 mins of that game then the result may have been different. Of course this wouldn’t fit in the need to make the Waratahs look good considering all the Wallabies they have in the team.

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Bull Shark 2 hours ago
Rassie Erasmus' Boks selection policy is becoming bizarre

To be fair, the only thing that drives engagement on this site is over the top critiques of Southern Hemisphere teams.


Or articles about people on podcasts criticizing southern hemisphere teams.


Articles regarding the Northern Hemisphere tend to be more positive than critical. I guess to also rile up kiwis and Saffers who seem to be the majority of followers in the comments section. There seems to be a whole department dedicated to Ireland’s world ranking news.


Despite being dialled into the Northern edition - I know sweet fokall about what’s going on in France.


And even less than fokall about what’s cutting in Japan - which has a fast growing, increasingly premium League competition emerging.


And let’s not talk about the pacific. Do they even play rugby Down there.


Oh and the Americas. I’ve read more articles about a young, stargazing Welshman’s foray into NFL than I have anything related to either the north and south continents of the Americas.


I will give credit that the women’s game is getting decent airtime. But for the rest and the above; it’s just pathetic coming from a World Rugby website.


Just consider the innovation emerging in Japan with the pedigree of coaches over there.


There’s so much good we could be reading.


Instead it’s unimaginative “critical for the sake of feigning controversial”. Which is lazy, because in order to pull that off all you need to be really good at is:


1. Being a doos;

2. Having an opinion.


No prior experience needed.


Which is not journalism. That’s like all or most of us in the comments section. People like Finn (who I believe is a RP contributor).


Anyway. Hopefully it will get better. The game is growing and the interest in the game is growing. Maybe it will attract more qualified journalists over time.

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