The annual Disciplinary Conference, for the ERC organised Heineken Cup and European Challenge Cup tournaments and the 6 Nations, was held in Dublin over the past two days (Sunday and Monday, 25 and 26 November, 2007).
The conference, which was attended by over 60 Citing Commissioners and members of Judicial Panels from England, France Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales, focused on the lessons from Rugby World Cup 2007 with regard to disciplinary matters.
The conference considered a wide range of disciplinary issues for both ERC tournaments and 6 Nations with the objective of dealing with disciplinary matters in a consistent manner.
The conference included separate training and workshop sessions for Citing Commissioners and for Disciplinary Committee members and Chairmen.
The delegates heard a coach's perspective on discipline from Ireland Coach Eddie O'Sullivan and were also addressed by international referee Alan Lewis and a technical performance analyst from Scotland (Gavin Scott) who focused on the current dynamics of the modern game with particular reference to defence and tackling.
The conference was chaired by Professor Lorne Crerar, Chairman of both the ERC and 6 Nations disciplinary panels.
Changes to ERC Disciplinary Procedures for the 2007 / 2008 season:
(i)Citing Commissioner
a) Citing Commissioners are being appointed by ERC for all Heineken Cup matches and shall be entitled to cite a Player for any act or acts of Foul Play that in the Citing Commissioner's opinion warranted a citing.
b) Clubs will not have the power to cite a player but may refer incidents to the Citing Commissioner within 24 hours of the conclusion of the match.
c) The Citing Commissioner will have 50 hours from the start of the game to make a citing and the determination of the Citing Commissioner will be final and binding. In exceptional circumstances this deadline can be extended.
d) Should the Citing Commissioner decide there is a case to answer he will notify the Disciplinary Officer and the Disciplinary Officer will then bring a charge against the cited player.
e) This case will then proceed to a disciplinary hearing.
(ii) Red Cards
a) The case of any player sent off shall be adjudicated by an independent Disciplinary Committee as soon as is practicable in the days after the game.
