All Blacks captain Sam Cane cops ban after Rugby World Cup final red card

Colin Newboult 06 Nov 2023 11:00 AM

Wayne Barnes shaking hands with Sam Cane after the Rugby World Cup final.

All Blacks captain Sam Cane has been banned following the red card he received in the Rugby World Cup final.

The flanker was initially sin-binned by referee Wayne Barnes for his dangerous tackle on Jesse Kriel in the first half, with the incident sent to the bunker for it to be independently reviewed.

It was duly upgraded to red, which meant that Cane was forced to watch the rest of the World Cup showpiece event from the sidelines,

New Zealand would go on to lose 12-11 to the Springboks in the final as South Africa became the first four-time winners of the competition.

Challenged red card call

“The player accepted that he had committed an act of foul play but challenged the Foul Play Review Official’s decision that the act warranted a red card,” a World Rugby statement read.

However, it was determined by the committee that, “A reckless act of foul play had occurred in breach of Law 9.13 (dangerous upright tackling), head contact had occurred, and the degree of danger was high as there was direct and forceful contact with the Player’s shoulder to the head of the ball carrier.

“When applying World Rugby’s Head Contact Process there was no mitigation available to bring the degree of danger below the red card threshold.

“On that basis, and in considering the sanction, the independent committee applied World Rugby’s mandatory minimum mid-range entry point for foul play resulting in head contact (six matches).

“Taking all considerations into account, including the player’s exemplary disciplinary record, his early acknowledgment of foul play and his clear remorse, the independent Committee determined mitigation of three matches was appropriate, resulting in a final sanction of three matches to be applied.”