Davids hit with three-week ban

After an act of foul play by DHL Stormers player No 11 (Angelo Davids), referee Marius van der Westhuizen showed the player a red card in the 48th minute of the game under Law 9.13 – A player must not tackle an opponent early, late or dangerously. Dangerous tackling includes, but is not limited to, tackling or attempting to tackle an opponent above the line of the shoulders even if the tackle starts below the line of the shoulders.

In the player’s responses to the Judicial Officer overseeing the disciplinary process (Ben Rutherford), he accepted that he committed an act of foul play which warranted a red card. Accordingly, Rutherford found that the incident met the red card threshold and warranted a mid-range entry point of six weeks. The player received three weeks (50%) mitigation due to his good record, early acceptance of the red card and immediate apology to the Emirates Lions flyhalf Sanele Nohamba which resulted in a three-game suspension.

Should the layer complete the World Rugby Coaching Intervention Programme then the sanction will be reduced by one week.

As Davids' upcoming playing schedule depends on Stormers' result in the United Rugby Championship quarter-final against Glasgow Warriors, the Judicial Officer requested historical information from Stormers in relation to their policy of sending players back to their WPRFU clubs prior to the Currie Cup.

The Stormers provided evidence to the Judicial Officer that in the event they do not progress to the URC final, Davids, who has missed most of this season due to injury, would return to his club for match time as has occurred with other Stormers players returning from injury in previous seasons.

Fixtures Davids is unavailable for

Glasgow Warriors v DHL Stormers, Friday, URC quarter-final

URC semi-final, 15 June OR St Georges v Kuilsriver RFC WPRFU SuperLeague A

URC Final, 22 June OR Villagers v Kuilsriver RFC WPRFU SuperLeague A