Super Rugby Pacific: Savea cops one-match suspension after throat-slitting gesture

Hurricanes captain Ardie Savea has been suspended for one week after making a throat-slitting gesture towards an opponent.

The Sanzaar foul play review committee assessed the controversial gesture, made during the Hurricanes’ clash with the Melbourne Rebels, and made their decision late on Tuesday night.

Although technically Savea’s suspension wasn’t just because of the gesture, that and his earlier yellow card resulted in a ban.

The suspension means he will miss the Hurricanes’ upcoming match against the Blues, but will be able to play against the Waratahs in Wellington on March 17.

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Savea had been yellow-carded by referee James Doleman just prior to half-time for escalating a melee, throwing Rebels first-five Carter Gordon to the ground, and on his way to the sin bin then made the throat-slitting gesture towards Rebels halfback Ryan Louwrens.

Savea was cited for that gesture. Under Law 9.27, ‘a player must not do anything that is against the spirit of good sportsmanship.’

Judicial committee chairman Nigel Hampton KC said he and the others on the committee felt Savea’s throat slitting action didn’t reach the threshold of warranting a red card, although the All Black was close to it.

“Having conducted a detailed review of all the available evidence, including all camera angles and additional evidence, including from the player and submissions from his legal representative, Aaron Lloyd, the judicial committee found the foul play did not breach the red card threshold,” Hampton said in a statement.

“With respect to sanction, the judicial committee deemed the act of foul play merited a warning as it was close to, but did not breach the red card threshold.”

The judicial committee determined the warning for the throat slitting gesture is equivalent to another yellow card. So with two yellow cards in a game, the situation needed to be ruled on again.

Sanzaar’s disciplinary rule 6.1 states: “If a Player has received two warnings or a combination of a warning and a yellow card during a match, he shall be treated for disciplinary purposes as if he had been sent off.”

Therefore, Savea was required to reappear before the Sanzaar Foul Play Review Committee as a result of his persistent offending.

In order to speed up the judicial process and with the agreement of all parties, the same committee members reconvened to sit as a Foul Play Review Committee and review the breach of Sanzaar Disciplinary Rule 6.1.

It was from this review that Savea was given the one-game ban.

In his finding, Hampton ruled the following: “Due to the nature of the player’s persistent offending, with both the yellow card and the warning being issued for unsportsmanlike play, that an appropriate sanction for the player would be a suspension of one week.

“That was accepted by the player, and the player is therefore suspended for one week, up to and including Saturday 11 March 2023.”

Savea apologised straight after the game for his behaviour.

“I can understand the fans are furious around the gesture that I made,” he told Sky Sport.

“It’s just a heat of the moment kinda thing. It’s footy. Kids are watching us, we’re in the heat of the moment. Usually that’s out of character for me, so I put my hand up first and I apologise for that.”

Former All Black Sir John Kirwan didn’t believe Savea needed to go to the judiciary and his apology was enough.

“No, total mistake from Ardie but he fronted up straight away and apologised,” Kirwan told said on Sky TV’s The Breakdown.

“It should not go to judicial, I believe. We want to send a strong message to kids, but that was it [his apology], ‘I’m sorry, I made a mistake, I wasn’t good enough and I need to get better’, that’s what you want from your leaders.

“We need to be a bit careful too as sometimes we make those gestures during the haka. Like he said it is a warrior [moment].

“Did he make a mistake? Yes. Do we want to see it in our game? No. But he apologised and did that really well.”