Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Savage collects a two-week ban
Gloucester lock is suspended for today’s Leicester game and Munster in Europe
GLOUCESTER Rugby lock Tom Savage has been banned for two weeks. He appeared at an independent disciplinary hearing in Bristol yesterday morning after being cited following the Gallagher Premiership match against Sale last Saturday for dangerous play at the ruck and he accepted the charge.
Savage was earlier not included in Gloucester’s matchday squad to face Leicester in the Premiership and he will also miss the Champions Cup game at home to Munster next week. He is free to play again from Tuesday, January 15.
Savage was seen to make contact with the head of Robert Du Preez, of Sale Sharks, in a second-half incident that was spotted by independent citing commissioner Paul Hull.
It was deemed to be a mid-range offence, but due to Savage’s guilty plea and good record, his suspension was cut in half from the entry point of four weeks.
Gareth Graham, sitting as a sole judicial officer, said: “It was accepted that the player had attempted to make a legitimate clear out at the ruck. The player’s left arm was used to bind onto his opponent; his intention was to use his right arm to wrap Du Preez around the midriff.
“On the balance of probabilities, it was accepted that this was not a case of the player “charging” into the ruck. As a result of the Sale player being tackled moments before by another Gloucester player, the point of contact was to his (the Sale player’s) head. The player accepted that this was an act of foul play, which passed the red-card threshold.
“The mandatory entry point where
there is dangerous play in a ruck, where contact has been made above the line of the shoulders and to the head is mid-range, in this case four weeks. The player was entitled to maximum credit for his plea, good record and other mitigating factors and is therefore suspended for a period of two weeks.”
Meanwhile, Gloucester boss Johan Ackermann, pictured below, wants to see a huge improvement from his players when they tackle Leicester today.
The Cherry & Whites head to Welford Road knowing that victory will guarantee they remain in third place behind runaway top two Exeter and Saracens.
But Ackermann also knows that there can be no repeat of last weekend’s display that saw Gloucester beaten at home in bonus-point fashion by Sale Sharks.
“The video wasn’t pretty, but we learnt a lot about our lack of accuracy and the things that we did wrong,” he said. “There are plenty of areas that we need to tweak and need to get better. We looked at ourselves in depth and at our detail.
“We also watched Bath against Leicester, which was a bruising battle. Leicester created a lot of opportunities and were in the fight right until the end. You look at their team, and they have internationals everywhere.
“They are a quality team, and despite their league position, the reality is that they are going to be a desperate and highly-motivated side. They are also playing at home, so we will have to up our game massively if we are to have any chance.”
Ben Morgan will skipper Gloucester this afternoon. Morgan, who has already skippered Gloucester Rugby this season in the Heineken Cup at home to Castres Olympique, will lead a team that features half-adozen changes from the side that started against Sale.
Gerbrandt Grobler comes in to partner Franco Mostert in an allSouth African second row, while Freddie Clarke and Gareth Evans return to the back row.
Callum Braley replaces Willi Heinz at scrum-half, and Ollie Thorley and Mark Atkinson both return from injury to line up on the left wing and at inside centre respectively.
Despite recent signs of an improvement under head coach Geordan Murphy, Leicester remain in the Premiership’s bottom third, just seven points above bottom club Newcastle.