South Africa second row, Catha Jacobs, appeared before an independent judicial committee on Wednesday, 29 March, having been shown a red card in South Africa’s international match against Canada on 25 March, 2023. The red card was issued for an offence pursuant to Law 9.13 (dangerous tackle) making contact with the ball carrier’s head.
The independent Disciplinary Committee was chaired by Rhian Williams (Wales), joined by former player Olly Kohn (England) and former referee Juan Pablo Spirandelli (Argentina).
The player admitted that she committed an act of foul play and that the act of foul play warranted a red card.
The Committee applied World Rugby’s mandatory minimum mid-range entry point for foul play resulting in contact with the head. This resulted in a starting point of a six-match suspension.
The Committee took into consideration the mitigating factors and decided that the player was entitled to the full mitigation available (three matches). The Committee decided there were no aggravating factors and therefore the final sanction was a three-week suspension.
The player may apply to take part in the Coaching Intervention Programme to substitute the final week of the sanction for a coaching intervention aimed at modifying specific techniques and technical issues that contributed to the foul play. Further information can be found here.
The player has the right of appeal within 48 hours of the issuing of the full written decision, which will appear here once published.
Click here to watch the video that explains how rugby’s disciplinary process works.
Visit World Rugby’s dedicated disciplinary process education and information page here.
