Sixweek ban likely to mean end to Nabura’s season
TEVITA Nabura’s Highlanders season looks as good as over.
Nabura copped a sixweek ban from the Sanzaar foul play review committee for his foul play in the match against the Waratahs last Saturday night in Sydney.
Nabura has been suspended from all forms of the game up to and including July 6.
The Highlanders are due to play the Crusaders in Christchurch that night and after that have just one regularseason game left, against the Rebels on July 14.
It is doubtful Nabura will be used if he has not played the game for more than a month.
Nabura was red carded for a kick to the face of Waratahs winger Cameron Clark when he was catching a high ball.
The foul play committee ruled the player’s action was a misguided effort by an inexperienced player to both try to regain balance while in the air and ward off the approaching opposing player.
‘‘The committee deemed the act of foul play merited a topend entry point of 12 weeks due to the contact with the opposition player’s head. As it is required to do, the committee assessed that, given the comparative lack of force of the actual contact to the head and the lack of any injury to the other player, the entry point should remain at 12 weeks. However, taking into account mitigating factors including the player’s excellent record, his remorse, his inexperience and his guilty plea at the first available opportunity, the Foul Play Review Committee reduced the suspension by 50% to a sanction of six weeks.’’
Nabura is in his first season with the Highlanders and is a former Fijian sevens representative.