Discipline Statement
October 2021
I am honoured to have been selected to be the new Chairman of Discipline for the North Midlands RFU after a competitive selection process. I am following in the footsteps of some of the great names of North Midlands rugby, including the late Jim Bennett and, of course, my immediate predecessors, Dai Scard and Rob Bray. It is a daunting task but I am really looking forward to the challenge.
The new season represents the return to rugby for many players, coaches and administrators after 18 months. As a result, the Discipline Committee has had a busy start to the season.
Two common themes have developed:
- Referee abuse
- Contact to the head in the tackle and from players fending.
Respect is one of the most important core values in our game and we are all responsible for upholding it. More importantly, if we do not respect our match officials they simply won’t be there when we want them to referee a game. No referee means no game.
The Discipline Committee has therefore decided that stamping out match office abuse will be its main priority. There is a real need for a deterrent to get rid of this scourge on our game. Clubs and players should be aware that the Discipline Committee has now adopted a policy that any player, coach, administrator or supporter who appears before a panel on a charge under World Rugby Law 9.28 (match official abuse or disrespect) or for an equivalent offence charged under RFU Regulation 5.12 (bringing the game into disrepute) will automatically have their sanction increased by a further 2 weeks.
All of us involved with our great game have a responsibility to make sure that players are safe. World Rugby has made clear that player safety is at the top of the agenda, particularly as regards head injuries. We in the Discipline Team will be playing our part in that.
Clubs and players need to be reminded that RFU Discipline Regulations state that any act of foul play which results in contact with an opponent’s head and/or neck will always result in at least a mid-range sanction.
In practice, this means that even if no injury is sustained:
- punching or striking an opponent with a hand or arm will mean a starting point of at least 6 weeks’ suspension from playing;
- kicking an opponent will result in a sanction of at least 8 weeks’ suspension from playing; and
- striking an opponent with the head will result in a sanction of at least 10 weeks’ suspension.
The Committee can (in appropriate cases) reduce any such period of suspension by a maximum of 50% provided all mitigating factors are present, but any player found to have committed an act of foul play which results in even minimal contact with an opponent’s head and/or neck will face a suspension from playing of at least 3 weeks.
Discipline is one of our core values. The Discipline Committee will be working hard to maintain the best standards of discipline in the North Midlands to make sure that we keep rugby safe and well-disciplined.
I wish you a safe and successful remainder of the season.
David Warner
Chairman of Discipline