CANBERRA – Brumbies winger Henry Speight has copped a five-week ban after the SANZAR judiciary finally released his punishment after returning a guilty verdict on Tuesday.
The Brumbies were hopeful in Speight escaping a ban after the judiciary handed down their verdict and then asked for more information before deciding on his fate.
The five-week ban means that the Fijian-born winger will miss the Brumbies’ Semi Final against the Hurricanes in Wellington on Saturday night (NZT), the final should the Brumbies make it as well as two of the Wallabies’ Rugby Championship matches against South Africa and Argentina on July 18 and July 25 respectively.
Speight was referred to the judiciary after receiving a red card in the final 10 minutes of Brumbies for a dangerous tip tackle on Stormers’ back Juan de Jongh and the judiciary officer had this to say about the incident.
“After taking all relevant facts into consideration, I found that the referee’s decision to issue a red card was correct,” he said.
“The tackle caused De Jongh’s feet to lift and his head to make contact with the ground first. It was not a legitimate clean out at a ruck and the player was fortunate not to have been injured. An aggravating factor is the ongoing need for a deterrent for dangerous play such as this which carries with it the real risk of serious injury.”
Henry Speight will next be available for selection for the Wallabies’ first Bledisloe Cup match against New Zealand on August 8.