N’Kinsi was cited for allegedly committing two acts of foul play in that firstly, he made contact with the eye area of the Worcester Warriors loose head prop, Ethan Waller, in the 6^th minute of the match at Sixways Stadium in contravention of Law 9.12, and that secondly, he made contact with the eye area of the Worcester Warriors replacement prop, Richard Palframan, in the 69^th minute again in contravention of Law 9.12.

Law 9.12 Contact with the eye area
Under World Rugby’s Sanctions for Foul Play, Law 9.12 relating to contact with the eye area carries the following sanction entry points - Low End: 4 weeks; Mid-range: 8 weeks; Top end: 12 to 52 weeks.

The complaints were made by the match Citing Commissioner, Ed Kenny (Ireland).

An independent Disciplinary Committee consisting of Simon Thomas (Wales), Chair, Mitchell Read (England) and Jean-Noel Couraud (France), considered video imagery of the two incidents and heard submissions from N’Kinsi who in both instances did not accept that he had committed acts of foul play.

Submissions and evidence were also heard from the Castres Olympique legal representative, Clément Germain, the Castres Olympique Defence Coach, Joe Worsley, and the EPCR Disciplinary Officer, Liam McTiernan.

Regarding the first complaint, the Committee considered additional evidence from Waller and from the Worcester tight head prop, Nick Schonert, before deciding that it was not satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that N’Kinsi had committed an act of foul play. The citing complaint was therefore dismissed.

Regarding the second complaint, the Committee heard additional evidence from Palframan before deciding to uphold the citing as it found that N’Kinsi had intentionally made contact with Palframan’s eye which warranted a red card.

Law 9.12 Intentional contact with eye(s)
Under World Rugby’s Sanctions for Foul Play, Law 9.12 relating to intentional contact with the eye(s) carries the following sanction entry points - Low End: 12 weeks; Mid-range: 18 weeks; Top end: 24 to 208 weeks.

It was than determined that the offence was at the mid-range of World Rugby’s sanctions for intentional contact with the eye, and 18 weeks was selected as the appropriate entry point.

Taking into account the player’s good conduct at the hearings, the Committee reduced the sanction by six weeks before imposing a 12-week suspension.

N’Kinsi is free to play on Monday, 4 May, and he and EPCR have the right to appeal the decisions.

Notes

(i) Red Cards
a) The case of any player sent off in a Heineken Champions Cup or a Challenge Cup match shall be adjudicated by an independent Disciplinary Committee or an independent Judicial Officer as soon as is practicable.
b) Until the hearing the player is ineligible to play in any tournament.

(ii) Citing Commissioner
a) Citing Commissioners are appointed by EPCR for all Heineken Champions Cup and Challenge 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 red card.
b) For such matches, clubs will not have the power to cite a player but may refer incidents to the Citing Commissioner within 26 hours of the start of the match.
c) The Citing Commissioner will have 50 hours from the start of the match to make a citing. In certain circumstances this deadline can be extended.
d) The tournament Disciplinary Officer may forward the submitted citing to a Citing Officer to determine whether there are sufficient grounds for the citing to progress.
e) The Disciplinary Officer will then bring a charge against the cited player.
(iii) Disciplinary Hearing
a) The independent Disciplinary Committee or independent Judicial Officer are chosen by the chairman of the independent Disciplinary Panel, Mike Hamlin.
b) EPCR's Disciplinary Officer presents the case against the player.
c) If a decision is upheld, the Disciplinary Committee or Judicial Officer will be required to consider the appropriate sanction under World Rugby's sanctioning regime, which EPCR is obliged to follow. The seriousness of the player's actions will be first assessed in order to determine which of the three stipulated entry points (lower end, mid-range and top end) is the most appropriate.
d) The Disciplinary Committee or Judicial Officer will determine the appropriate entry point based on an assessment of a number of particular characteristics of the player's actions, including whether or not they were intentional, whether or not they caused any injuries and whether or not they had any effect on the relevant match.
e) After deciding the entry point, the Disciplinary Committee or Judicial Officer will then consider whether the suspension should be increased from the entry point to take account of certain specified aggravating factors, such as a poor disciplinary record or the need for deterrence, and/or decreased from the entry point to take account of certain specified mitigating actions, such as a guilty plea, a good disciplinary record, the player's conduct at the hearing and expressions of remorse.
f) A suspension is a blanket ban from playing rugby union anywhere in the world. Players are suspended on the basis that a one-week period of suspension would ordinarily result in a player missing one match. Suspensions take into account periods of inactivity (such as the close season), periods when a player is injured or otherwise not fit to play, and when a player is not available or not expected to play. Suspensions should also take into account any out-of-season matches which are not considered to be meaningful, or which are not close enough to the season to be a determining factor in a player’s future selection.
g) Both parties to the hearing (EPCR and the player) have the right to appeal decisions. Appeals must be lodged within three (3) working days of receiving the full written decision of the Disciplinary Committee or Judicial Officer.
h) The full written decision will be available on epcrugby.com/discipline/hearing-decisions when the disciplinary process is complete.
i) For World Rugby's Sanctions for Foul Play, found at Appendix 1 to World Rugby Regulation 17, go to world.rugby

Castres Olympique’s Hans N’Kinsi has been suspended for 12 weeks, and has had a citing complaint against him dismissed, following independent Disciplinary Hearings in London on Wednesday, 22 January, arising from his club’s Challenge Cup, Round 6 match against Worcester Warriors.