Tribunal findings in relation to an appeal by Mpumalanga Rugby Union

Oct 2 • General News • 2298 Views • Comments Off on Tribunal findings in relation to an appeal by Mpumalanga Rugby Union

A South African Rugby Union (SARU) Appeal Tribunal on Friday dismissed an appeal by the Mpumalanga Rugby Union (MRU) against their conviction for breaching Player Movement regulations in the Absa Currie Cup Under-21B competition.

The MRU had appealed against the finding of a Judicial Officer, made on Wednesday. He had upheld a complaint from the Valke Rugby Union that players registered with their clubs had appeared for the Pumas Under-21 team without obtaining the necessary clearance certificates from the Valke Rugby Union.

However, the Pumas’ appeal against their sentence was partially upheld. The Appeal Tribunal modified the sentence such that the Pumas Under-21s forfeited the log points from four matches in which they fielded ineligible players – rather than the seven of the original sentence.

The imposition of a fine of R200 000, suspended for 12 months, remains in place.

As a result of the sentence the Pumas forfeited 19 log points from the four matches at issue and moved from first to fifth on the log. The revised semi-final draw for the Absa Currie Cup Under-21B competition remains as:

· Friday, 2 October: Boland U21 vs SWD Eagles U21 at 16h00 in Wellington;

· Saturday 3 October: Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls U21 vs ORC Griquas U21 at 15h00 in Polokwane.