Super Rugby
Henry Speight handed five-week suspension
ESPN Staff
June 24, 2015
Henry Speight (R) will not be eligible to play until the 26th of July © Getty Images
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Brumbies winger Henry Speight will miss the Brumbies' semi-final clash with the Hurricanes after he was suspended for five weeks for a dangerous tackle. Speight was found guilty of contravening Law 10.4 for a lifting tackle during the Brumbies' win over the Stormers last weekend.

The suspension rules Speight out of any further Super Rugby matches and will result in his unavailability for the Wallabies' two opening Test against South Africa in Brisbane and Argentina in Mendoza. He will be available for the Bledisloe Test series.

The SANZAR judicial hearing was chaired by Robert Stelzner SC via video conference on Tuesday afternoon at which time Speight had been found guilty, but the outcome was delayed after Stelzner requested information of the player's forthcoming playing schedule in order to determine the sanction.

In his finding, Stelzner ruled: "As the Judicial Officer, I considered all the evidence before me including the video footage of the incident, referee and TMO reports for issuing the red card and the submissions made for the player by his legal representative, Peter McGrath.

"After taking all relevant facts into consideration, I found that the referee's decision to issue a red card was correct. I found the incident to have a lower end entry point for breaching of 10.4 (j) Lifting Tackle which stipulates a four-week suspension."

Twice-capped Wallabies winger Speight was sent off for his tackle on the Stormers Juan de Jongh in the 74th minute of the Super Rugby qualifier in Cape Town last weekend. He was given a red card for a dangerous tackle on a player without the ball when he appeared to flip the Stormers centre onto his head.

Several suspensions have been imposed this season for lifting tackles, with players frequently getting at least two weeks.

© AAP

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