Four players sent home from JWC
Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:35
Following a disciplinary hearing on Monday afternoon into the fight that ended the match between France and Wales at the Junior World Championship, three French and one Welsh player have been sent packing.
There are further sanctions for the players and sanctions for the teams.
Wales surprisingly beat France 23-19, which meant that France were out of contention for the championship while Wales qualified to go on to play New Zealand in a semifinal. At the final whistle a brawl broke out.
The hearing was held in Cardiff under an independent judicial officer, Hugh Logan of Ireland, and the decision was to send three French players home - loose forward Jérémy Braille, wing Djibril Camara and prop Rabah Slimani - and Cardiff Blues lock Jevon Groves of Wales. They will take no further part in the championship.
The inquiry found that both teams had "displayed behaviour or practices that brought the Game of Rugby Union, the IRB and the IRB Junior World Championship into disrepute as a result of a 'serious act’ of violence involving players and other personnel from both teams".
The teams were each fined £50 000 suspended for two years. Further each team will start the next two championships, in 2009 and 2010, with minus three points.
The IRB reports: "Both teams accepted that the behaviour of their teams following Wales’ victory at the Liberty Stadium was not acceptable and acknowledged collective responsibility for bringing the Championship into disrepute."
The independent Judicial Officer further determined, having reviewed the video and report evidence presented, that individual players should be sanctioned for their part in the incident.
In addition the four players were sanctioned for misconduct.
Camara, who had been cited and found guilty of a dangerous tackle earlier in the tournament, was suspended for nine weeks, Braille for nine weeks, Slimani for 13 weeks and Groves for three weeks. The French players start their suspensions on 9 August 2008, Groves his immediately.
The parties have 48 hours to appeal the decision.
A statement from the Welsh Rugby Union said: "The WRU is considering the implications of the result.
"The focus of this review of the findings concerns the imposition of a sanction deducting three points from Wales age grade rugby teams taking place in IRB tournaments during 2009 and 2010.
"The WRU condemns violence and misconduct and accepts without question the other sanctions imposed at the hearing which took place in Cardiff this week.
"Legal and rugby advisers are being asked by the WRU for their views on the points deduction sanction which inevitably penalises young players yet to be selected for future squads.
"Welsh rugby officials will also liaise with their counterparts from the French Rugby Federation to consider the implications of the sanctions."
