All Blacks star escapes punishment for ‘grub’ flying headbutt but could face a hefty ban
Highlanders and All Blacks prop Ethan de Groot and an inset of his headbutt.
Highlanders prop Ethan de Groot may face a lengthy ban, which could make him unavailable for the All Blacks.
The Highlanders fell to an agonising 15-12 defeat to the Crusaders in their penultimate 2025 Super Rugby Pacific fixture with replacement fly-half Cameron Millar missing a late penalty to send the game into extra time.
Ethan de Groot headbutt
Jamie Joseph’s team head into their final game of the season against the Chiefs with nothing but pride to play for and may well do so without their star loosehead prop De Groot.
This after the All Blacks front-rower was spotted headbutting Crusaders lock Jamie Hannah during the first half of the clash in Christchurch.
The 26-year-old made a physical clearout on the ‘Saders second rower, coming to the ground with the lock before launching himself and delivering a headbutt.
It was an incident not too dissimilar to France hooker Peato Mauvaka during the 2025 Six Nations, who was given a three-match ban for his headbutt on Scotland scrum-half Ben White.
France star learns disciplinary fate after avoiding red for ‘flying headbutt’ against Scotland
Mauvaka was shown a yellow card for his action with the Foul Play Review Officer unable to find sufficient evidence to upgrade his actions to a red card. However, the disciplinary panel disagreed after he was cited and handed him an entry-level sanction, reduced from six games to three for admitting foul play and a previously clean disciplinary record.
As for De Groot, his actions were not spotted by the matchday officials and, if he is to be cited, he will not be afforded the same reduction having previously been banned.
Nice little headbutt from Ethan de Groot on Jamie Hannah pic.twitter.com/A5qc6m6TVn
— Jamie Wall (@JamieWall2) May 23, 2025
During the 2023 Rugby World Cup, he was slapped with a two-game suspension for his dangerous tackle against Namibia.
If his actions are also deemed to reach the entry-level sanction, his sanction would be dependent on the disciplinary panel’s decision according to the following World Rugby guidelines.
Law: 9.12 A player must not physically abuse anyone. Physical abuse includes, but is not limited to… Striking with head: Low-end: 4 weeks, Mid-range: 10 weeks, Top-end: 16+ weeks, Max: 104 weeks
A four-match ban would rule him out of all the Tests against France, as well as the Highlanders’ final Super Rugby Pacific match. Because he would not qualify for a maximum reduction of 50%, he would be banned for a least one of the matches versus Les Bleus.
Social media reaction
Fans hit out at De Groot for his actions after journalist Jamie Wall posted a video of the incident.
“Nice little headbutt from Ethan de Groot on Jamie Hannah,” the caption on Wall’s post read.
One fan reacted: “Grub. He’s gunna cop it for that.”
Another joked: “Bakkies almost did time in jail for that same.”
