Four-week ban for SBW
All Black Sonny Bill Williams has copped a four-week suspension for his shoulder charge on Lions wing Anthony Watson in the 25th minute of Saturday’s 24-21 second-test loss.
A judicial panel consisting of Adam Casselden, David Croft, and John Langford, all of Australia, heard the case at the New Zealand Rugby offices in Wellington last night before delivering the verdict that will ensure Williams misses the deciding test against the British and Irish visitors in Auckland this Saturday.
The decision capped an eventful 48 hours for the capital.
Victorious Lions fans nursing morning-after headaches faced hour-long queues at Wellington Airport just to check their bags, in what staff were calling their busiest weekend ever. Some 45,000 people passed through the airport.
Fans who decided to stick around Wellington for the day were more relaxed, and upbeat after the Lions’ 24-21 win over the All Blacks.
Gerard Quilligan and mates Catherine O’Leary, James and Daniel Kavanagh were recovering from a ‘‘buzzing’’ night out.
The group had been lone Lions supporters sitting in a patch of All Blacks fans at Westpac Stadium on Saturday night and O’Leary said it ‘‘got a bit vicious at times’’ but all in all, it had been a great night.
Supporter Alun Griffiths took the longest commercial flight in the world – 17 hours from Qatar – to make it here for the tour.
‘‘It was absolutely fantastic. There was a lot of anticipation ahead of the game and after last week, the Lions came at them harder than they thought.’’ He said the All Blacks lost confidence after Sonny Bill Williams was sent off. Griffiths and his mates had nominated Williams as the ‘‘man of the tour’’. After the match, thousands of fans took to Wellington’s streets to celebrate the win. Police were visibly present during the night but found supporters and revellers caused no major issues. Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency (Wreda) interim chief executive Derek Fry said the city had been reaping the economic benefits of the tour. ‘‘Hospitality businesses reported record numbers of punters before and after the big match as the city’s population swelled to what is thought to be an all-time high, leading to the full signs going up in hotels and motels around the region.’’