Players suspended for brawling

Two provincial rugby players have copped hefty suspensions following a brawl in the final round of the Mitre 10 Cup.

Hawke’s Bay’s Tony Lamborn and Manawatu¯’s Newton Tudreu have been suspended for four weeks and five weeks respectively, for their part in the incident, which took place late in the first half of their match two weeks ago.

The duo were both red carded for ‘‘punching or striking opposition players,’’ at the time.

Duty judicial officer Helen Morgan described the cases as ‘‘of a serious nature,’’ New Zealand Rugby said in a statement.

‘‘Lamborn landed several punches that connected with the heads of opposition players,’’ read the statement.

‘‘While considering the actual offending to be in the mid-range of seriousness, Morgan said Lamborn had not been involved in the initial incident and joining the fray afterward was a response that needed to be discouraged.

‘‘Mitigating factors of a clean judicial record and acceptance of responsibility saw a reduction in the suspension from six to four weeks. ‘‘Tudreu joined the incident from a distance and struck an opponent’s head with his knee – an offence serious enough to warrant an eight week suspension.

‘‘However, taking into account Tudreu’s clean record and his admission of guilt, she reduced the suspension to five weeks.’’

With Hawke’s Bay and Manawatu not involved in the Mitre 10 Cup Championship final this weekend, the suspensions will likely be served in club rugby next year. Lamborn is suspended from all rugby for his next four matches, and Tudreu is suspended from all rugby for five scheduled matches.

Hawke’s Bay won the match 36-31, denying Manawatu¯ a place in the Championship semifinals.