Guildford cops ban
Hawke’s Bay winger Zac Guildford has been suspended for four weeks for a lifting tackle.
Guildford pleaded guilty to the lifting tackle charge after being cited for an incident in his team’s match against Counties Manukau last Friday.
The incident occurred in the 58th minute of the match when Guildford spear-tackled Cardiff Vaega, but was missed by the referee and Guildford escaped punishment during the game.
A person on Facebook posted on Tuesday that the tackle went unpunished, to which Guildford replied that hadn’t. ‘‘Wasn’t missed and I’ve been suspended, wasn’t my intentions at all. I apologise for what looks like an act of foul play,’’ he wrote.
Vaega then waded in, saying there were no hard feelings.
‘‘Salgs brother, came out of it unharmed, go well for the remainder of the season. Chur!!!,’’ he wrote.
New Zealand Rugby duty judicial officer Chris Morris indicated a low-end entry point for the punishment, but added two weeks as a deterrent for these type of tackles.