24 May 2015

Waratahs cited for lifting tackle

6:49 pm on 24 May 2015

The Waratahs forwards Silatolu Latu and Will Skelton will appear at a SANZAR judicial hearing after being cited for a dangerous tackle on the Crusaders' All Black Sam Whitelock.

Kurtley Beal looks on as Will Skelton and Sam Whitelock get into a disagreement in the Super Rugby final, 2014.

Kurtley Beal looks on as Will Skelton and Sam Whitelock get into a disagreement in the Super Rugby final, 2014. Photo: PHOTOSPORT

The pair is alleged to have contravened the Lifting Tackle law in an incident that occurred in the 17th minute of Waratahs' 32-22 win over the Crusaders on Saturday in Sydney.

The referee for the match, Marius van der Westhuizen, issued a yellow card to Latu for the incident, but upon further review of the match footage, the Citing Commissioner deemed in his opinion the incident had met the red card threshold for foul play.

The citing was considered in the first instance by SANZAR Duty Judicial Officer Nigel Hampton QC who progressed the matter to a hearing on Monday.

The Judicial Officer for the hearing will be Robert Stelzner SC.

The lifting tackle law (10.4 (j)) states that "lifting a player from the ground and dropping or driving that player into the ground whilst that player's feet are still off the ground such that the player's head and/or upper body come into contact with the ground is dangerous play."

Also over the weekend, the Lions player Robbie Coetzee was cited for allegedly contravening the same rule in the Lions' 40-17 win over the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.

The referee for the match, Jaco van Heerden, issued a yellow card for the incident.