The DHL Stormers - and potentially the Springboks - were dealt a massive blow after playmaker Damian Willemse was given a three-match suspension for his red card during the Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash against Cardiff last Friday night.
Willemse was red-carded during the game for a tackle where there was clear head contact and now will miss the rest of the Stormers’ URC campaign, something that coach John Dobson said at the time was a “disaster” for the team.
Willemse only recently returned to action after injury and the Stormers were hoping to have him available for their URC quarterfinal against Glasgow Warriors in Scotland next weekend, but the suspension immediately rules him out of that.
And if the Stormers do win that game and get to the semifinals or potentially the final, he will be unavailable for those games as well.
While it is still unclear, there is also the real chance that if the Stormers are eliminated in the quarterfinals, Willemse will miss test matches for the Springboks as part of the suspension as well.
Teams have been able to claim domestic rugby such as the upcoming Currie Cup games in mitigation of sentences and it will be interesting to see if the Stormers - or WP - can do this and Willemse can reduce the sentence if he attends so-called “tackle school” - otherwise known as the World Rugby Coaching Intervention Programme.
Either way, it is a massive blow to the Stormers, and at the worst possible time.
“The Disciplinary process related to Damian Willemse's Red Card in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship Round 18 game against Cardiff Rugby on Friday, May 16 has resulted in a three-game suspension,” the URC Disciplinary Committee’s release states.
“After an act of foul play by DHL Stormers player No 15 (Damian Willemse), referee Gianluca Gnecchi showed the Player a Red Card in the 58th minute of the game under Law 9.11 – Player's must not do anything that is reckless or dangerous to others including leading with the elbow or forearm, or jumping into, or over, a tackler.
“In the Player’s responses to the Judicial Officer overseeing the disciplinary process (Jennifer Donovan), he had accepted that he had committed an act of foul play which warranted a Red Card. Ms. Donovan found that the incident met the Red Card threshold, with entry of mid-range warranting six weeks. The Player received three weeks (50 per cent) mitigation due to his good record, which results in a three-game suspension.
“Should the Player complete the World Rugby Coaching Intervention Programme, then the sanction will be reduced by one week.”
Fixtures Damian Willemse is unavailable for:
Glasgow Warriors v DHL Stormers, Friday May 30, Vodacom URC Quarter-Final
*The remaining two fixtures to which this sanction will apply shall be determined based on the progress of the DHL Stormers