Sharks’ ‘official request’ over Ethan Hooker incident rejected as URC closes matter
Sharks head coach JP Pietersen and injured back Ethan Hooker.
Ospreys wing Luke Morgan will not be sanctioned for the incident that led to a serious injury to Sharks powerhouse Ethan Hooker, according to a report.
During the Welsh region’s 21-17 victory over the South Africans at Brewery Field, there were several moments which got people talking, but the one on the stroke of half-time has particularly angered those in the Republic.
Hooker had just touched down when Morgan dived on top of the Springboks star, resulting in the visiting wing suffering a dislocated shoulder.
While the officials reviewed the try, they did not look at the actions of the Welshman and he was not sanctioned on the field.
Morgan-Hooker matter closed
There is obviously scope for the citing commissioner to get involved but, according to Independent Media, the matter will not be pursued further.
“The citing officer involved reviewed the incident and found that it did not meet the red (or yellow) card threshold,” a United Rugby Championship source said.
“There has been a lot of public discourse about the fixture, and while we certainly understand there are heightened opinions in these circumstances, we must respect the processes that are in place.”
Ospreys head coach Mark Jones also confirmed that from their perspective the matter is closed.
“We’ve had no complaint from the citing commissioner, everything’s cleared as far as we’re concerned. Luke Morgan’s available for selection this week as far as we know,” Jones said.
“Like all of the season, I’m sure teams have got instances where they would like some clarification from officials or from citings, or reds and yellow cards.
“You’ve got to trust the process and that’s what we do. We’ve been on the other end of it sometimes and we just go through the process, be consistent with your behaviour and try and maintain your integrity through it all and trust people to get on with their jobs.
“That’s what we’ve done. We’ve got on with our work this week and let everybody talk about what’s gone on in their own way.
“We’ve got a serious amount of respect for the Sharks, they’ve earned that over the years with their performances. They’re a top side with endless amounts of Springboks in the team.”
Ospreys boss slams ‘disgraceful’ abuse of Welsh wing and claims ‘no malice’ in Ethan Hooker dogshot
Sharks’ request to the URC
Reports emerged from South Africa of the Sharks making an ‘official request’ for the citing commissioner to investigate the incident, but that has been rejected.
According to IOL Sport, they “submitted a report and supporting medical documents to the commissioner on the night of the match”.
That came after Sharks boss JP Pietersen spoke about his dissatisfaction of Morgan not being punished during the game.
“After scoring a try, the rules say you are not supposed to dive on a player and rules are there to protect players and sadly that did not happen,” Pietersen said.
“He dislocated his shoulder. He is a massive presence for us and to lose him after the first half was very disappointing and frustrating.”