Suspended: Andrew Hore
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New Zealand hooker Andrew Hore has been given a five-week suspension for striking Wales lock Bradley Davies last Saturday in Cardiff.
Hore was originally handed an eight-week suspension but had three weeks knocked off for his exemplary disciplinary record, good conduct at the hearing and genuine remorse over the incident.
Davies was forced to leave the field and sent to hospital following the blindside shot, with both fans and the media widely condemning Hore for his actions.
The ban means Hore will be unable to play again until 24 February 2013, meaning he will miss this weekend's Test against England at Twickenham along with all of the Highlanders pre-season matches and the first clash of the new Super Rugby season.
"I want to say how bad I feel and how embarrassed I am to be in this situation," Hore told the New Zealand Herald.
"It is not the All Black way and I have let myself down and the team and probably the whole country is pretty proud of what we do.
"I hope Bradley Davies does recover and get back up and running and play in the Heineken Cup as soon as he can.
"I have been on the phone and talked to him on Sunday about the incident and obviously the All Black management and the leader group that I am a part of has been pretty stern on me for getting us into this situation and I have to take what I have got and go back and start building a reputation as a good, clean, hard footy player and hopefully I can do that in the next Super Rugby competition when I get back playing."
Comments
APV1 says...
5 weeks is probably about right, although it should have been a red card at the time.
So what if BD was offside and running interference? That doesn't justify Hore's actions. So what if other players have been the victims of foul play? That's irrelevant.
I would question his "genuine remorse" though. He didn't look that remorseful immediately after it had happened from my seat in the stands. Those big screens showed what he did and then him just getting on with things. There was absolutely no concern about BD's condition or remorse shown.
But I'm sure he's had time to reflect and is remorseful now. He doesn't have a particular history of foul play, so it's correct to reduce the sanction.
Is Mealamu fit, or will it be Coles?
Posted 14:11 28th November 2012
Willy says...
Wow he'll miss one game for NZ and one pre-season friendly....hardly much of a punishment.
Think bans like this need to take into account the off season, 5 weeks would be fair if he missed 5 competitive games. Perhaps the IRB should look at banning by games rather than weeks.
Posted 14:08 28th November 2012
rugbylover says...
Well, Bradley - would you do it again? To him?
Posted 14:08 28th November 2012
7redcards says...
If five weeks is all he gets for this its a joke, if this had been a French player or an English player on tour in NZ they would have got double this and then some. Disgraceful decision.
Posted 13:57 28th November 2012
passtheball says...
What about the public flogging? Cant recall his being suspended before? The initial 8 weeks is a strong ban.
Posted 13:56 28th November 2012