No further punishment for Poverty Bay captain

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

POVERTY Bay and OBM captain Murray Hewson has avoided further penalty after appearing before the judicial committee following a red card for punching an HSOB opponent during a premier rugby match.

Hewson admitted punching an opponent in the face during the match played at Rugby Park last Saturday.

The committee accepted Hewson was trying to prevent a teammate from being further injured.

Hewson was one of four players, including Thomas Tutakangahau (see front page), to appear before the judiciary this week.

The committee found “very strong mitigating factors” sufficient not to impose any further sanction upon Hewson in addition to the original sending off and an automatic suspension, which excluded him from Poverty Bay’s match against New Zealand Universities on Monday night.

Witnesses — including Poverty Bay coach Mutu Ngarimu and tackled player Jake Holmes — said Holmes was being held up by an HSOB player in an ‘‘awkward and dangerous’’ manner, or in a choke hold or carotid hold.

Holmes said he was unable to move his hands as they were stuck in a maul.

He was blacking out and was very concerned for his safety and well-being.

Judicial committee chairman Adam Simperingham said they had not heard evidence regarding any injury to the HSOB player punched once by Hewson.

“Although we do not condone such behaviour, we certainly think the accident was justified to the point where no further sanction is required,’’ he said.

n Waikohu player Tapu Dixon has been suspended for two weeks, with one week already served automatically, for stomping or tramplng on an OBM player in a premier match at Rugby Park on April 23.

The referee’s report said Dixon “used players at the back of a ruck to lift himself up before stomping” the OBM player.

Mr Simperingham said the OBM player had killed the ball.

“There was a heated moment and (using Dixon’s words) he got frustrated. Dixon tried to go forward over the player. When Dixon did that, he pressed down on the other player’s torso with his foot. In the committee’s view, that amounted to a stomp.”

Dixon said his intentions were not malicious or intentional.

He had not previously appeared before the judiciary committee.

Mr Simperingham said the committee decided to impose a low-range penalty as it appeared the incident was not grave or intentional as it read in the referee’s report.

Dixon had not levered himself up upon his own players to “come down hard as a really outrageous stomp’’.

“Rather it was just a fleeting moment that occurred in the heat of the moment, bourne out of frustration.’’

n Waikohu’s Mat Ruru will serve an automatic one-week suspension after appearing before the judiciary for receiving three yellow cards in the same season — for intentionally knocking the ball on (April 2), continual back chat (April 23) and failing to retire after a penalty (April 30).

No additional sanction was imposed.

The committee decided “that while we do not condone the three incidents, they were at the lower end of culpability”.

Ruru will not play against HSOB tomorrow.