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The Australian Rugby Union wants a nonsensical IRB appeals process overhauled after it piled undue stress on Wallabies skipper James Horwill for six days during its showpiece Lions series.
ARU boss Bill Pulver has taken heavyweight IRB officials to task over their controversial appeal against Horwill’s first Test rucking charge, which was not completely resolved until Tuesday morning.
Pulver said the sport’s governing body needed to review their judicial process after attempting to overturn the initial not guilty finding of judicial officer Nigel Hampton.
The angry chief executive took issue with both the IRB’s failure to support Hampton’s original decision on June 23 as well as the “unacceptable” time lag in its appeal – that only saw Horwill finally cleared four days before the third Test.
“The main person I’m concerned about is James Horwill,” he said on Wednesday. “I think you saw on Saturday night, when he collapsed to his knees (after the 16-15 win in Melbourne), you had some sense of the strain and the anxiety that that process created.
“So I don’t think that’s appropriate right in the middle of a tour like this.
“We didn’t find out until mid-morning Tuesday before a Test match whether our captain was playing.
“It was frustrating and simply unfair to James.”
Horwill had been cited for rucking rival lock Alun Wyn Jones in the 23-21 first Test loss in Brisbane, had his original hearing in Melbourne and was then cleared a second time by Canadian appeals officer after sitting through a video link in Sydney.
Pulver has already voiced his concerns over the appeal to IRB boss Brett Gosper but would now write to the IRB to see their judicial procedures reviewed.
“I simply have a problem with the double jeopardy concept of being tried twice for the same issue,” he said.
“The IRB is clearly well within its rights to appoint these judicial officers and the process is appropriate, I just don’t think the appeal process initiated by the IRB to review the decision of their appointed judicial officer makes sense.
“I just think it needs to be reviewed and I would like to see it changed.”
Pulver said he would be happy for the IRB to appoint more than one judicial officer to hear citings and charges but stressed that once a decision is reached there should not be a second hearing.
He reconfirmed that the future of Wallabies coach Robbie Deans did not hinge on a series success against the Lions but failed to offer any guarantees when asked on Wednesday.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.