Argentina internationals Agustin Creevy and Leonardo Senatore have both been cited for foul play following the Jaguares’ 25-22 Super Rugby loss to the Sharks in Buenos Aires on Saturday.
Argentina captain Creevy was cited for a dangerous tackle on Sharks flanker Jean Deysel that resulted in the bruising loose forward being carried off on a stretcher.
Deysel landed awkwardly following a front-on tackle from the hooker in the 32nd minute of the match and hit the Velez Sarsfield pitch face first.
Photo: AFP
The 31-year-old could be heard on television saying he had hurt his neck in the tackle. He was immediately immobilized by Sharks’ medical staff and the game halted for more than five minutes until he was carried off.
Senatore was cited after SANZAAR officials reviewed match footage and determined the 32-year-old flanker had appeared to have bitten Sharks loose forward Keegan Daniel during a ruck in the 69th minute.
SANZAAR said in a statement the match citing commissioner had deemed that both actions had met the red-card threshold for foul play.
In South Africa, a whirlwind start set up the Golden Lions for a 43-5 triumph over the Auckland Blues on Saturday after a one-sided match played in driving rain.
Humiliated at home by the Wellington Hurricanes in their previous match, the South Africa-based side took out their frustrations on another New Zealand team by scoring seven tries in Johannesburg.
Three of those scores came within 11 minutes of kick-off at Ellis Park, giving the hosts a 19-0 advantage that they retained until halftime.
A further two tries early in the second half stretched the gap to 31 points and long before the end the only undecided issue was how wide a winning margin the Lions would achieve.
Securing a bonus point after scoring seven tries lifted the Lions to pole position in the two Africa conferences, one point above the Western Stormers.
The Blues lie seventh in the Australasian standings, 11 points below the last play-off spot. They are the only New Zealand outfit likely to miss the quarter-finals.
“I am very proud of our performance,” said Lions skipper and No. 8 Warren Whiteley. “We were hurting after conceding 50 points against the Hurricanes. We spoke openly among ourselves after that devastating loss and vowed to get back on the winning trail against the Blues.”
“It was a wonderful all-round showing with the backs and forwards combining brilliantly,” he said. “While Lionel Mapoe was a worthy man of the match after scoring three tries, all 15 starters and the eight players who came off the bench deserve credit.”
Elsewhere, the Central Cheetahs defeated fellow strugglers the Southern Kings 34-20 in a game that will quickly be forgotten by the few thousand spectators who watched it.
“A comedy of errors,” was the summation of TV analyst and former Springboks coach Nick Mallett on the SuperSport channel. “The less said about it the better.”
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