New Zealand hooker Keven Mealamu has had his ban for headbutting England captain Lewis Moody reduced from four weeks to two weeks, following an appeal hearing on Friday.
rugby365
That means that although Mealamu will be ruled out of the All Blacks’ internationals against Scotland in Edinburgh on Saturday and Ireland in Dublin next week next week, he will be available for the tour finale against Wales in Cardiff on November 2.
His suspension was reduced after an appeal panel decided he had not intentionally meant to headbutt Moody during the match, which the All Blacks won 26-16.
Mealamu can also play for the Barbarians in their match against world champions South Africa at Twickenham on December 4, having previously been selected for the invitational side.
Hikawera Elliot will make his Test debut in Mealamu’s absence against Scotland at Murrayfield this weekend.
“For me it’s been a tough week, having something like this hanging over me,” Mealamu told reporters at New Zealand’s hotel on Friday.
“I’ve never played the game to hurt anyone. I feel a lot better, I will take a lot more care the next time I do a clean out like that.”
The All Blacks were furious Mealamu’s previously “exemplary” disciplinary record in his 82-Test career had been called into question.
New Zealand assistant coach Steve Hansen, who earlier in the week said the team would “fight to the death” to overturn Mealamu’s ban, was delighted by the appeal decision.
“There was no intent, Kev’s not like that,” said Hansen. “That’s why we supported him so strongly.”
An initial International Rugby Board (IRB) disciplinary hearing here on Tuesday saw Scottish judicial officer, Professor Lorne Crerar, ban Mealamu for eight weeks, but reduced it to four weeks because of ‘mitigating’ circumstances.
That suspension, had it been upheld, would have ruled him out of the remainder of New Zealand’s tour.
But his ban was reduced after an appeal panel chaired by South Africa’s Peter Ingwersen, together with Robert Williams (Wales) and Jean Noel Couraud (France), decided Mealamu had not acted deliberately.
A statement issued by the appeal committee said that although they upheld the original decision that there had been an act of foul play, having had the opportunity to review the video footage, they concluded the act was not intentional and that it merited a lower end entry point in the IRB list of sanctions.
Effectively, this meant the appeal panel thought the offence was now worth only a maximum ban of four weeks and, because of Mealamu’s record, they reduced it to two just as Crerar had, in his original verdict, reduced the ban from eight weeks to four weeks.
Their statement added: “In view of the compelling mitigating factors and the absence of aggravating factors, this was reduced to two weeks meaning that Mr. Mealamu is free to resume playing on Monday 22 November, 2010.”
29@ Pam Anderson:
Hahaha… Reckless driving of a Heavy Vehicle, without a Licence…..
Bwahahaha
Or in Rugby Terms… Truck and Trailer….
Haaaaaaaaaahahaahahahahaha
Like tyres.
For a longer ride take a wider one 🙂
Love is in the air.
Wil jy sit if wil jy le?
I do not want to stir this any more but what we all said to each other here was broadly covered earlier by Brenden Nel in his article yesterday on Supersport.
Hypocracy comes in many forms, but none more so apparent as the All Blacks “outrage”over the four-week ban for hooker Keven Mealamu.
His headbutt on English flanker Lewis Moody deserved more – perhaps not the nine-week suspension handed down to Bok lock Bakkies Botha – but a lot more than the month break he is forced to take.
But while most of us viewed the replays of the incident, shook our heads and muttered to each other : “he’s going to get cited for that”, the real surprise is how the All Blacks, those mighty custodians of what is good and right in the game, reacted to the suspension.
In a year when referees are almost terrified to penalise New Zealand because their boss Paddy O’Brien controls their appointments. (his thumbs up for Alain Rolland’s handling of Richie McCaw in the Tri-Nations is just one example), the way the All Blacks have come out in defence of Mealamu borders on the ridiculous.
McCaw was right when he pointed out the inconsistencies of the judicial system, especially after the cheap shot from English hooker Dylan Hartley went unpunished by the citing commissioner. But for a respected captain who plays down controversy, his team management have tarnished more than just the All Blacks’ reputation.
Remember all those “thuggery”calls after the Botha incident. The Bok lock was indefensible and we all knew it. Botha took his punishment like a man, the Bok came home and apologised, served out his ban and we respected him for it. The All Blacks were also mum when Tony Woodcock escaped censure for punching Saia Fainga’a during this year’s final Tri-Nations game.
But Mealamu has appealed (as is his right) and the All Blacks have gone on the offensive. While we are all wondering if a Bok player with a similar incident would have gotten off so lightly, the All Black management are trying every bit of spin to disguise a disgraceful incident.
All Black assistant coach Steve Hansen’s defence of the hooker must now rate up there alongside Peter de Villiers’s ill-timed defence of Schalk Burger during the Lions series last year. Consider the following:
“What we are talking about here is a guy whose character is being questioned and it shouldn’t be. Everyone is disappointed and gutted for Kevvy, everyone knows it is not in his nature to do that,” Hansen said.
“Everyone knows that if Kevvy said he didn’t do it, he didn’t do it.”
Hansen added that Mealamu was “a one-off special person. He hasn’t got a dirty bone in his body.
“He’s not a dirty player, he never has been. This is a case we’ll go to the death on.”
Ok, so that’s settled then. “Kevvy” said he didn’t do it, so he didn’t do it. A clean sportsman, according to the All Blacks, who has been slighted by the fact that Moody dared make contact with his head. Understandable, after all, Moody was on the ground and should have anticipated a flying Mealamu coming in.
Strange too that Mealamu was one of the players who – according to the British press – “got away” with spear-tackling Brian O’Driscoll in the 2005 Lions tour. Only it wasn’t a spear tackle, and it wasn’t punished.
In the same series Danny Grewcock was banned for two months for biting Mealamu’s fingers. Grewcock claimed the hooker had tried to hook his mouth, a claim that was never substantiated and which have made some – like former English test player Brian Moore – wonder “why Mealamu’s fingers were in Grewcock’s mouth in the first place.”
All the spin aside. A headbutt is a headbutt. It is a top level offence according to the International Rugby Board. As such, if it is deemed a headbutt, it should be punished accordingly.
Mealamu may be a Christian, and a “nice guy” (as is Bakkies, by the way), but his actions should be judged on the moment of madness itself, and an appeal could always come back with a harsher sentence.
Four weeks is a light sentence and given the reaction from the All Blacks, you can’t help but understand if there isn’t a lot of love for them in Europe – or the rest of the rugby world – right now.
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This is bullshit. How can a headbutt be unintentional.
The situation is simple: if you are an All Black you can do whatever the fluck you want and get away with it. You are untouchable.
Nothing that we say here will change anything but this is another step back by the IRB. The NZ and AUS websites are just as upset about this. This will damage the NZ image.
Some of the reactions by fans on the NZ Official website is not good at all, stuff like this is said over there-
#4 – Bear (09:22AM 13 Nov 2010)
Vindicated!!!! Not intentional!!!! Reckless!!!! You idiiots that have attacked KM’s integrity – PISS OFF!!!!!
#2 – kiwi dan (08:39AM 13 Nov 2010)
Should of got a 2 hour ban, but hey! 2 wks ain’t bad
On ya kevvy baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Next time knock the Pommy “OUT” they aint worth sh!T !
#9 – steve37 (11:52AM 13 Nov 2010)
We need to prepare for more of this i will be suprised if over the next twelve months we don,t see an increase in all the talk that the refs favour the AB,AB never get sited,AB never get yellow cards,the AB are cheats,McCaws a cheat
Hoe se hulle, kry vir julle Ma het gebak.
Can’t believe this 😯
@ Puma:
Can you believe the way we crumbled against Pakistan this morning 😯
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