Quade Cooper will miss three Super Rugby matches after being found guilty of a dangerous tackle against the Lions.
The Queensland Reds five-eighth was red carded in the 47th minute of their heavy loss to the South African side when he hit centre Rohan Janse van Rensburg as he crashed over for a try in Johannesburg.
The competition’s governing body SANZAAR took a dim view of the incident, suspending Cooper up until April 8 in a verdict handed down on Tuesday night (AEDT).
SANZAAR suggested he may have been lucky not cop an even heftier sabbatical.
“With respect to sanction the judicial committee deemed the act of foul play merited a mid range entry point of six weeks,” the SANZAAR statement read.
“However, taking into account mitigating factors including the player’s admission of guilt, his remorse and the fact that the player had a good disciplinary record having not come under notice since 2012, the judicial committee reduced the suspension to three weeks.”
Already reeling from skipper James Slipper’s season-ending injury, it is another hammer blow to the Reds who sit second on the Australian conference but only have one win from four games.
Cooper will miss games against the Jaguares, Hurricanes and Brumbies before being available for selection against the Kings on April 15.
The mercurial pivot had already been flown home to Brisbane, suggesting the Reds were well prepared for the suspension.
Jake McIntyre is already a confirmed starter at No.10 for Cooper against the Jaguares with Henry Taefu as cover.
Former Brisbane NRL flyer Lachlan Maranta has been called into the Reds’ squad.
Cooper flew home with Slipper, who ruptured an Achilles tendon in the Lions’ romp at Ellis Park.
Ruckin Oaf
Guest
Depends why they put him there.
Jibba Jabba
Roar Guru
He has man love for quadie cos he is the closest thing to a soccer player playing rugby at the moment... :)
piru
Roar Rookie
Try commenting on something that isn't about Quade, Zero Point
piru
Roar Rookie
He can tackle just fine these days, for some reason they keep hiding him at fullback - I don't know why. It can't be good for his confidence in contact.
Ruckin' Oaf
Guest
Please it wasn't so long ago that they naysayers stressed Cooper was a liability because he couldn't tackle. Now it's because of he'll get red-carded due to dangerous tackles. Oh and those five yellow cards weren't all for high tackles but hey when bagging Cooper let's not let the facts get in the way
DOUBLES
Guest
Their aint new talent for the ARU to give cash to , looking towards the future.,.. That is why we have QC Foley Lance and two Kiwis as our super rugby tens.. .. Try again hahaha
Jibba Jabba
Roar Guru
bugger, thought you had gone to your effeminate little soccer game..... where you belong.
Zero Gain
Guest
Pathetic posts by two of the most typically negative forces on the roar. We all know why.
Adsa
Guest
I just want the Reds to play a winning card!
piru
Roar Rookie
yeah it's not like he kneed someone in the head or broke into a hotel and stole a computer
Qaudes fan club
Guest
This will not affect qaudes test selection! The aru will want to see some results for all the $$$ they have thrown at quade hoping he will get it right. This card couldn't have come at a better time as he may now last past the halfway mark of the super rugby season without injury. Dont get me wrong there is still a knee or shoulder injury coming it just may come later. Hopefully he can squeeze some more cash out of aru as there is a risk they may give it to new talent looking towards the future.
Oblonsky‘s Other Pun
Roar Guru
Nice match against the Brumbies on the weekend, Jock. You might have a chance to be competitive against the Rebels now you've droppe Phipps! I doubt it though, mate, still relying on Mumm, Skelton and Foley.
DOUBLES
Guest
Stop playing possum Jibba Jibba.. You know at I mean..
Paul
Guest
I think so, as is Neville and and CFS.
puff
Guest
Fin, understand but reading a judgment in a news article, is very different from witnessing the judicial findings including how the case was presented by the clubs legal folk. If Luatua received a more favourable sentence, perhaps they were better prepared or as reiterated had a better past record. Was Quade unlucky, who knows, what is fact, his tackling technique has been poor for years and until he make adjustments he may see more red than desired.
Jeff
Guest
Yes I did read the article. What I am commenting on is Cooper’s five yellow cards at Test level since 2012 all for high tackles. In the prevailing environment most if not all of these would be red cards today. If you don't think this should be a concern to the wallaby selectors then you are even more delusional than your general ravings on this website seem to indicate. It is a matter of fact that Cooper has a propensity to make head high tackles and seems incapable of disciplining himself to cease. In a test match this could make the difference between winning and losing if he is red carded. It is not a matter of getting stuck into Quade as you so colourfully assert. It is the fact that if a player is red-carded it makes it almost impossible for their team to compete as we saw last weekend.
Dingo
Guest
Is Magnay still injured?
Hoy
Roar Guru
I can't split the difference between "Must Be" yellows and "Must Be" reds these days, but three weeks, PLUS the red card seems bloody harsh.
Paul
Guest
I presume you also didn't read the article Jibba Jabbberer.. hahaha
Fin
Guest
Puff my point was around that were both 6 weeks entry level both high shots to the head with force but one was behind play on a bloke who never had the ball. How can they been seen as the same? The fact that Cooper got more of a reduction based on his record is also a bit puzzling!