The Brumbies’ chances of overcoming the rampant Blues in the Super Rugby Pacific semifinals have received a setback with Test centre Len Ikitau banned for his red card last week.
The club opted to fight the card at SANZAAR’s Judicial Committee on Tuesday night but the decision to uphold a ban was not communicated until after 4pm on Wednesday.
Ikitau was sent off for a high hit on Hurricanes flyhalf Aidan Morgan during the Brumbies’ 35-25 victory on Saturday.
Ikitau is banned for three weeks, but only two games because he has chosen to undertake coaching intervention.
That means he will be available for the Wallabies opening match against England on July 2. He is allowed to make up his banned game in club rugby with Tuggeranong.
Len Ikitau of the Brumbies looks dejected as he leaves the field after being given a red card during the Super Rugby Pacific Quarter Final match between the ACT Brumbies and the Hurricanes at GIO Stadium on June 04, 2022 in Canberra, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Brumbies head coach, Dan McKellar said Ikitau was “shattered”.
“It’s the way game is headed with high contact,” McKellar said. “We thought there were mitigating factors, the judicial panel didn’t, so unfortunately he misses out the remainder of our season.
“He’s shattered. really disappointed. He’s never had a yellow card in his career so to get a red card and be ruled out of the two biggest games of the year is difficult for him to take.
“He understands his role now is to help Ollie and the backs defensively as he always does.”
McKellar said Ikitau was “outstanding delivering his thoughts on the incident.
“We’ll let him sleep on it, give him some room and he knows he’s got to park that now and move on with what’s important next and that’s helping us prepare to win a semi and grand final. In a few weeks time it will all be forgotten about and he’ll move on to being available for the Wallabies.”
In more encouraging news for the Brumbies, Rob Valetini returns from injury at No.8 in what, Ikitau apart, is a full strength lineup.
Paul Cully joins Brett McKay and Harry Jones to look ahead at the semi finals in the latest edition of The Roar Rugby Podcast.
“The player is therefore suspended for 3 weeks. The Judicial Committee has sought more feedback from the Player regarding his potential playing schedule and reserves the right to adjust the date of the sanction upon receipt of the information.”
The Blues named their team on Thursday with three starting changes.
Nepo Laulala replaces Ofa Tuungafasi at prop, AJ Lam comes onto the left wing following Bryce Heem’s head knock, and Josh Goodhue will start at lock.
The Blues have four locks in their 23 due to the absences of loose forwards Dalton Papalii and Anton Segner.
Assistant coach Tom Coventry had plenty of praise for the Australian club after they took to Blues to the wire in Canberra last month.
The Brumbies found joy at the breakdown, successfully slowing down the Blues’ ruck speed, while setting the Kiwis on the back foot through use of their rolling maul weapon.
“They were up for it,” Coventry told reporters.
“They were playing as close to the law as they could to keep themselves in the game. Physicality at the breakdown is what most teams crave and they were after that. They played on the edge, and they got penalised for it. This week I’m sure they would’ve talked about their discipline and I’m sure they’ll be better there.
“We had three guys held up over the line so we were responsible for not finishing off as well. We’ll start from scratch again.
“They were bloody good last time we played them. It came down to a drop goal and they had the upper edge on us at times. I know they’re pretty confident with the way they played against us so it’s a big challenge for us.
“We respect them deeply. They’re a great side and they’ve been the benchmark for Australian sides for a while now. We’re going to have to be at our very best. We weren’t last time.”
Semifinal teams
Friday 5:05 pm AEST – Crusaders v Chiefs
CRUSADERS (1-15): George Bower, Codie Taylor, Oli Jager, Scott Barrett (c), Sam Whitelock, Pablo Matera, Tom Christie, Cullen Grace, Bryn Hall, Richie Mo’unga, Leicester Faninga’anuku, David Havili, Jack Goodhue, Sevu Reece, Will Jordan
RESERVES: Brodie McAlister, Tamaiti Williams, Fletcher Newell, Zach Gallagher, Corey Kellow, Mitch Drummond, Braydon Ennor, George Bridge
CHIEFS (1-15): Aidan Ross, Samisoni Taukei’aho, Angus Ta’avao, Brodie Retallick, Tupou Vaa’i, Samipeni Finau, Luke Jacobson, Pita Gus Sowakula, Brad Weber (c), Bryn Gatland, Etene Nani-Seturo, Quinn Tupaea, Alex Nankivell, Jonah Lowe, Josh Ioane
RESERVES: Bradley Slater, Ollie Norris, George Dyer, Naitoa Ah Kuoi, Sam Cane, Xavier Roe, Rameka Pohipi, Chase Tiatia
Referee: Nic Berry.
Saturday 5:05 pm AEST – Blues v Brumbies
BLUES (1-15): Alex Hodgman, Kurt Eklund, Nepo Laulala, Josh Goodhue, Tom Robinson, Akira Ioane, Adrian Choat, Hoskins Sotutu, Finlay Christie, Beauden Barrett (c), Mark Telea, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Rieko Ioane, AJ Lam, Stephen Perofeta.
RESERVES: Soane Vikena, Karl Tu’inukuafe, Ofa Tuungafasi, Luke Romano, James Tucker, Sam Nock, Tamati Tua, Zarn Sullivan.
BRUMBIES (1-15): James Slipper, Folau Fainga’a, Allan Alaalatoa, Darcy Swain, Caderyn Neville, Tom Hooper, Pete Samu, Rob Valetini, Nic White, Noah Lolesio, Andy Muirhead, Irae Simone, Ollie Sapsford, Tom Wright, Tom Banks.
RESERVES: Lachlan Lonergan, Scott Sio, Sefo Kautai, Nick Frost, Luke Reimer, Jahrome Brown, Ryan Lonergan, Hudson Creighton.
var request = new XMLHttpRequest();
request.open('POST', '/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php', true); request.setRequestHeader('Content-Type', 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded;'); request.onload = function () { if (this.status >= 200 && this.status
CUW
Roar Rookie
from what i have heard on commentary in Europe - u cannot come back on early = u must take the full 10 minutes , and is passed can come back on after 10 minutes , unlike in a blood bin case. and if u take more than that to recover then u cannot come back on. also from what i heard the 10 minutes start when ur test is given - and not the time u go off the filed. i think this was the contention in the Crusaders case - where the 4th ref prevented a player coming back on , becoz he started the clock when he went off the field and not when his HIA by doctors began. perhaps u can speak to the powers that ne and write an article on alll the protocols involved, becoz we saw today in the semi quite a few issues regarding HIA. first there was an issue that Matera didnot go off for HIA - despite his tackler getting a yellow. and then when Matera hit a player and was given his yellow - the player who got hit was sent for HIA by the ref. as far as i have heard the taking off for HIA is sole responsibility of the independent match doctor - and no other match officials have any say - this has been confirmed by a reffing friend as well.
moaman
Roar Guru
And that would be a win for the club-turning a negative into a positive! I like that idea, soap.
soapit
Roar Guru
Maybe if they use a club game they have to actually play the same number of matches for that club within 12 months
Paulo
Roar Rookie
It’s reminiscent of Trump pre-election. He called the elections rigged and fraudulent before anything even happened. Already seeing those calls being made now about the game. So, safe bet, if Brumbies lose, it’ll be because kiwi X and kiwi Y and bias this and cheating that.
WEST
Roar Guru
So, what else is new
BBR
Roar Rookie
The whinging on here is remarkable and the game hasn't even started yet
Muzzo
Roar Rookie
That your opinion mate, not mine, as I see things, in that respect, far differently!!!
Brett McKay
Expert
I actually thought it was 15 minutes, CUW, but I'll stand corrected. And I'm not aware of anything stopping you coming back early..
CUW
Roar Rookie
@ BRETT MCKAY isnt there a set time for return from HIA - like 10 minutes? u cant come before that and if u have not recovered in that time u cannot come on after also . at least thats how it was explained in Europe. also i remember in England they made it 13 minutes so doctors have more time for their concussion reasearch. it will be interesting explanation if JB took more time to recover but still came on. becoz i recall one match in south africa when a crusaders player was not allowed to come back becoz they got the timing wrong by the refs and SR was pissed off but was nice about it
CUW
Roar Rookie
needs something new - seen the windmill and worm quite a few times - that includes under 20 world cup- so long ago i cant even remember the year !!! :silly: :silly: :silly: :silly: :silly: :silly: :silly: :silly:
CUW
Roar Rookie
from what i see it seems they practice hard to bend at hips. also if u can watch the URC match bw Stromers n Edinburgh . there is a yellow for high tackle between the two number 8 - both upright there are no lectures or educating the players. ref watches on screen - goes to the players and says orange 8 high tackle yellow card. if this was in SH - gardener will call both captains and the players affected and then go " now let me eplain this to you - ,,,,," perhaps its time these super rugger PROFESSIONALS are treated like profesionals and not LKG kids. i think previos season there were many red cards in gallagher - but now hardly one , not even yellows in most matches. unless u punish all hard at the begining u cannot achieve anything or have a buy in from all concerned. and mind u - the refs are much better :silly: :silly: :silly:
Mo
Guest
Muzzo I think your wrong mate. I played rugby but at least half instinctively. Have a mate who never played but sees the technical stuff. Neutral loves rugby and does get the technical stuff. He mostly gets in trouble for pointing that the abs and SH rugby aren’t as good as we like to think we are. He’s usually right. 30 years ago I would guarantee that the wallabies were at least2 tries better than any 5 nations team.
Mo
Guest
Danny I think the crime is the potential for danger not working back from the outcome. And there’s problems like if you do a low front tackle defending the line they’ll do a 360 and appear to be driven off the horizontal. Plenty of rugby players been punched in face without anyone getting damaged or hurt but who wants a broken jaw? In regard to a shoulder, that can end a season or a career and I think that would be serious.
Paulo
Roar Rookie
Oh, I will need to go and rewatch it then. I must have missed the head on the ground. It’s a tough one, and you’re right it’s not black and white. I just think there is so much subjectivity and (perceived) inconsistency that a blanket rule may remove some of the angst. I really don’t know what the solution is though.
Brett McKay
Expert
Nah, Barrett's head definitely hit the ground, and fairly hard too. I know where you're coming from with the mandatory HIA suggestion, but I'm really not sure. I think there's merit in it, but I'm not sure it's a black and white thing. Lolesio for eg, was back on the sideline wanting back on within 7 or 8 minutes, whereas Barrett took a lot longer. I don't know if that means anything, but I know who's head impact looked worse..
Paulo
Roar Rookie
Perfect, that’s I would want to happen and I’d question why they didn’t do it for Ikitau’s hit. Especially if they called for one for Jordie Barrett and he didn’t appear to hit his head on anything (granted whiplash from hitting the ground could have an impact). To remove all doubt and standardise things by removing subjectivity, I’d like a mandatory HIA process. I know some people will argue it’s a way an opposition team could remove a key player for 10mins, but I really don’t think any team or player would be that nefarious to hit someone in the head so as to remove for an HIA. Is that naive?
Wallabies_Larkham
Roar Rookie
"A bit like Rennies selections , the judiciary use a dart board"...hehe
Brett McKay
Expert
Paulo, the independent match day doctor called for HIA immediately for both Jordie Barrett and Noah Lolesio (which was the Owen Franks hit). I saw it happen on the sideline, went and told the ref's assistant, then advised the respective team managers...
Double Agent
Guest
Fairly sure Matera's was a clean out?
Double Agent
Guest
I think a Tah did it. Or at least tried to. Can't remember exactly. Yeah it's pretty dodgy.