Flavell on his own if he appeals against stomping ban

By WYNNE GRAY

Blues lock Troy Flavell will decide today whether to appeal his three-month suspension for stomping, a ban which removes him from the Super 12 and will cost him about $20,000 in wages.

Flavell was granted extra time to make his choice after the Blues franchise indicated they would not support him in any further legal action.

"We definitely do not condone such an incident and are extremely disappointed that Troy has let himself, the Blues management and fellow team-mates down," chief executive David White said.

A Sanzar judicial panel of Bruce Squire QC, Mattie Blackburn and Brian Coomber spent three hours reviewing videotape and listening to evidence about Flavell's trampling on Chiefs' hooker Greg Smith.

The panel decided Flavell's use of the boot was deliberate but gave him the benefit of the doubt on whether he had aimed at Smith's head in last Friday's match in Hamilton.

Smith was at training this week although he complained of headaches and needed a CAT scan to assess his injuries. The results are expected today.

The Sanzar judiciary banned Flavell for three months, a sentence which places him on half pay and leaves the Blues a player down for the rest of the Super 12.

There was sympathy for a fallen colleague from fellow Blues players yesterday, not justification of the foul play but a show of support for a fellow team member.

Captain Xavier Rush was sure the controversy would not be a distraction for the Blues in the run-up to their meeting with the defending champions, the Crusaders, at Albany on Saturday.

"No, we know what we have to do. We have dealt with what happened and all the concentration now is about what we have to do to be at our best for this match," he said.

"We backed ourselves in the last game and we have to do it again this week. We have looked quite a lot at what the Crusaders do and are now working on what we need to get right."

Flavell will be replaced by new All Black Bradley Mika, who was a draft player for the Crusaders last season.

"The Crusaders have started a bit like us," Rush said.

"They have earned two good results without peaking yet."

The Crusaders have a few selection problems with backs Andrew Mehrtens, Nathan Mauger, Mark Robinson and Marika Vunibaka all injured and doubtful for Saturday.