Angus Crichton has World Cup final ban reduced following appeal
Australia forward Angus Crichton has had his two-match World Cup final suspension halved, meaning he will only miss one game for Sydney Roosters.
Crichton was sin-binned five minutes into the second half of Australia’s 30-10 World Cup final win over Samoa for striking Chanel Harris-Tavita with a forearm. Samoa’s Harris-Tavita was forced to leave the action.
And on Wednesday at a judiciary hearing, the Kangaroos back-rower challenged his two-match penalty notice given to him by the match review panel after the final.
As a result, Crichton’s suspension has been reduced to a one-match ban. He will serve it with the Roosters next season.
Samoa coach believes Angus Crichton should have been sent off
Samoa boss Matt Parish criticised referee Ashley Klein’s decision not to send off Crichton. However, he acknowledged that it didn’t play a part in the outcome of the match.
“We were probably never close enough to pressure them,” Parish said. “But there was clearly a 40-20 in the first five minutes. And five minutes into the second half (Chanel Harris-Tavita) gets an elbow to the head and the referee makes a weak decision.
“The result is disappointing but certainly not the effort or commitment of these guys. I couldn’t be prouder or happier with the group.”
Junior Paulo paid tribute to the impact his side have made on Samoans around the world.
He said: “We spoke during the week about giving ourselves every chance; and that whatever happened we were always going to be able to hold our heads up and be proud. That’s all I wanted from this bunch of men.
“The one thing that will stick with us is in history these names are always going to be beside each other. We will be able to look back when we’re done and be proud.”
Elsewhere, New Zealand’s Georgia Hale received a caution for a hair pull in their 54-4 defeat to Australia in the Women’s World Cup final.
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