New Zealand's Issac Luke and Jeremy Smith have withdrawn their claims - Rugby
New Zealand duo of Issac Luke and Jeremy Smith have withdrawn their appeal of suspension. This was confirmed to media sources on Tuesday, November 15. Both players were handed out bans after the weekend's sudden death clash of Gillette Four
Nations, which featured New Zealand and England.
The pair was handed the bans by the international disciplinary panel for foul play. After the judgment, the players had shown their intentions of contesting the ban imposed.
The Kiwis put up a very sloppy performance, which bulldosed all chances of their making it as finalists in the title decider of the series. The clash in which the duo was pointed out for their foul play by authoritiers, wrapped up with an overwhelming 28-6
win for the English side, who had managed to establish an early lead during the initial half of the game.
The weak resistance by Kiwi quarters led the English side to score 8 points by the end of the first-half of the game. New Zealand’s situation did not stay the same, until the second-half of the game, as they managed to add their contribution to the score
card through Nightingale’s try.
Meanwhile, the English side ran in a total of four tries, which were mostly scored during the second-half of the game. Tom Briscoe ran in a try just before the clock struck half-time, whereas the remainder of tries were scored during the latter half of
the game by Ryan Hall, Sam Tomkins and James Graham. Kevin Sinfield put up a man-of-the-match performance booting a total of six goals, on six attempts.
The same encounter changed everything for the duo. Luke was handed in a two-match ban for the illegal leg twist on England scrum-half, Rangi Chase, just before the half–time of the Saturday's Gillette Four Nations match in Hull. The player had already been
cautioned for his dangerous cannon ball tackle during the Kiwis' 26-12 defeat by Australia in the inaugural match of the tournament in Warrington, which was reported to be the second instance of the kind.
Similarly, Smith was handed a one-match ban imposed for the disallowed usage of forearm on Sam Tomkins during the course of the same match.
Both suspended players had planned on contesting the verdict announced by the international disciplinary committee, but now they have decided to comply with the decision handed to them, which will only affect their National Rugby League (NRL) pre-season
trial matches.
Luke and Smith will appear before the international disciplinary panel in Leeds on Tuesday. The panel will have Jim Doyle, chief executive of New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL), and football manager Tony Kemp on board. The trial will be headed by a judge in
the presence of unbiased Four Nations representatives Geoff Carr from Australia and Mike Nicholas from Wales.
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