SA Rugby have confirmed that Eben Etzebeth will face a World Rugby disciplinary panel on Tuesday afternoon or evening, but a verdict is not expected until Wednesday.
In the last minute of the final match of the Springboks’ statistically most successful season, Etzebeth received a permanent red card from French referee Luc Ramos for making “clear contact” with the eye area of flank Alex Mann during a scuffle.
The conduct of the 141-cap veteran has stolen much of the spotlight that should have fallen on the Boks’ accomplishments in a season in which they won 12 of 14 Test matches and beat the Barbarians. Their success rate of 86.6 per cent is the best for a Springbok team over a calendar year.
Much of the talk since the Boks’ 73–0 hammering of the Welsh has centred on why the 34-year-old lock did what he did and how long he will be suspended for.
Etzebeth will be represented at the hearing by the players’ union MyPlayers and SA Rugby.
The verdict is unlikely to be revealed on Tuesday because the hearing will be lengthy, with various parties to notify and releases to prepare. Etzebeth’s defence is likely to be based on alleged provocation from Mann.
The incident unfolded when Welsh players Ben Carter and Taine Plumtree stopped an attack from Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. Etzebeth rushed in to support the Bok fly-half, and he and the arriving Mann collapsed into a ruck.
Something occurred between them that was not visible as the TV camera followed play. Ramos then noticed a furious scuffle between Etzebeth and Mann.
Etzebeth gestured towards his own face while Mann claimed to have been eye gouged. The replay does not capture Etzebeth’s allegation, but his own eye gouge of the Welshman was shown in slow motion, prompting the red card.
Etzebeth’s defence team will emphasise that this was his first red card in 141 Test matches and a career first at any level.
In his debut season for the Boks in 2012, Etzebeth was suspended for two weeks for an attempted headbutt on an Australian player, but since then, despite his aggressive playing style, he has largely stayed on the right side of the law.
World Rugby’s sanction guidelines for eye gouging are clear:
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Low-end: 4 weeks
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Mid-range: 8 weeks
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Top-end: 12+ weeks
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Maximum: 52 weeks
World Rugby regulations state: “Judicial Officers shall undertake an assessment of the seriousness of the Player’s conduct that constitutes the offending and categorise that conduct as being at the lower end, mid-range or top end of the scale of seriousness to identify the appropriate entry point.”
Etzebeth might draw some hope from the two recent suspensions of his Sharks and Springbok teammate Makazole Mapimpi — the wing received three and four-week bans due to mitigating circumstances.
