Blues 2022

KiwiMurph

Luatua was MAGS.

Stargazer

Caleb Clarke suspended for three weeks (up to and including 23 April 2022)

https://twitter.com/SaffasRugby/status/1510157632052596737

Here's the official SANZAAR media release:

https://super.rugby/superrugby/documents/judiciary/super-rugby-pacific-round-7-clarke-suspended-for-three-weeks/

antipodean · Caleb Clarke suspended for three weeks (up to and including 23 April 2022)

@stargazer so no clarification, just a punishment for clouting an attacker...

SANZAAR really is useless.

Stargazer

@antipodean It's unfortunate that SANZAAR only publishes media releases and not the full decisions, like World Rugby does.

nzzp · Caleb Clarke suspended for three weeks (up to and including 23 April 2022)

@stargazer young age is now a basis to reduce bans.

FML.

Stargazer

@nzzp Yeah, it's strange. I can see inexperience as a basis for reduction, but Clarke has plenty of experience, including at the highest level.

He also didn't admit to any wrongdoing (no "his acceptance of foul play" in the reasoning) and contested the allegations; in most cases that means that you get one week less reduction (so a 4 week-ban). It's not impossible that they might have considered reducing the penalty more than 50% (for example to two weeks) if he had accepted the citing.

Tim

From Instagram, Akira Ioane ran on his foot for the first time since his injury.

Crucial

@stargazer said in Blues 2022:

@nzzp Yeah, it's strange. I can see inexperience as a basis for reduction, but Clarke has plenty of experience, including at the highest level.

He also didn't admit to any wrongdoing (no "his acceptance of foul play" in the reasoning) and contested the allegations; in most cases that means that you get one week less reduction (so a 4 week-ban). It's not impossible that they might have considered reducing the penalty more than 50% (for example to two weeks) if he had accepted the citing.

These things just give the appearance of being 'what do we reckon is fair considering the act and the person'? Then they retrofit some justification through the guidelines.

MN5

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Crucial

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gt12

@kiwimurph said in Blues 2022:

Luatua was MAGS.

I was just coming to post that - he played with my cousin.

Edit: Was he was poached at some point? I don't remember it @Dice

nzzp

@gt12 said in Blues 2022:

@kiwimurph said in Blues 2022:

Luatua was MAGS.

I was just coming to post that - he played with my cousin.

Edit: Was he was poached at some point? I don't remember it @Dice

that ABs profile is plain wrong then.

Also, he's only 30. Would walk into the team these days

Bovidae

Luatua made the NZ Schools team in 2009 as a MAGs player so his profile is wrong. Read spent a year at St Kents before returning to Rosehill. Kaino was poached from Papakura HS.

KiwiMurph

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/super-rugby/300561083/compliant-blues-have-no-complaints-after-caleb-clarkes-super-rugby-pacific-ban

Sanzaar has failed to differentiate between Clarke’s blow, and that landed by team-mate Nepo Laulala against the same opponents four days earlier when his shoulder connected with Moana Pasifika centre Fine Inisi’s head in a breakdown, and also drew a red.

Both players were meted out three-week bans, and that, say the Blues, is just fine by them.

“We appreciate what World Rugby are doing, really emphasising keeping players safe,” Blues assistant coach Daniel Halangahu told a media posse after Thursday’s training at Alexandra Park. “We went in there hopeful. You could see there was no intent and we all know Caleb is a warm, loving young man, and never intended for anything to happen. But unfortunately it did.”

Asked if the ban was fair, Halangahu said the Blues’ view was that it was.

“The framework is pretty clear and they’ve applied it,” said the attack coach. “We’re getting consistency now. There has been a shift over the last few years and that’s because of the injuries sustained. We’re really clear on what’s OK and not OK. Caleb got it wrong, he accepts he got it wrong, and it’s just the degree of how he got it wrong is where we’re at.”

That supportive view extended to the framework of how head contact offences were viewed. “We support keeping players safe, so we’ve got to adjust how we do things,” Halangahu added. “Obviously in those two incidents we got it wrong, so we’ll work on changing some behaviour and technique.”

Halangahu did concede Clarke’s offence had been almost “unique” in its nature – though still a reminder that ultimately the duty of care lay with players making challenges.

“Caleb was attempting to keep the player safe, and that’s the reason he had the angle across the kicker. But he still made contact, so it’s understanding the exact scenario where we probably can’t leave our feet and get into that space.

“We’ve got to keep the safety of the person kicking the ball at front of mind. If we can’t execute that charge-down and still keep that person safe, we’re going to have to adjust our technique.”

Dice

@gt12 said in Blues 2022:

@kiwimurph said in Blues 2022:

Luatua was MAGS.

I was just coming to post that - he played with my cousin.

Edit: Was he was poached at some point? I don't remember it @Dice

I don't think so.

The Silver Fern

Blues 2022