Alex Mann eye gouge - see video

What do the oaks think. Looks like he may have his own problems. Did he eye gouge Eben? Is this a mitigation?

https://youtube.com/shorts/_XfzzTXldhk?si=rz4MW-9PXga9LY_8

I think Eben should have done a better Job and Head Butt the guy too… :) Bwahahahahaha !!

Can't see any gouge on that footage, looks like a normal ruck situation. Unless it's the action we see happening just before the #20 steps out of the way, but we can't really see anything except the hand moving away from his face and it doesn't look like Eben particularly reacted to it.

Not sure why people act like what happened before is going to matter. We know retaliation is punished without regard for what led to it. Law 9.21 specifically forbids retaliation.

Nothing obvious there.

I saw a clip of Mann when his face turned towards the camera. I could not detect any mark etc. It doesn't look like any damage was done.

Mampara Pakster provocation is a listed mitigation factor that must be taken into account. Doesn't mean Eben will get off Scott free but if provocation is proved it will reduce the sentence.

Mampara Pakster provocation is a listed mitigation factor that must be taken into account. Doesn't mean Eben will get off Scott free but if provocation is proved it will reduce the sentence.

Would be nice to have a link to a source. This is what AI gives me:

No, in the rugby foul play disciplinary process, retaliation is not considered a mitigating factor; in fact, it is a specific type of foul play in itself under the laws of the game. World Rugby regulations list the "existence of provocation" and "whether the Player acted in retaliation" as specific considerations during the assessment of seriousness phase, but this is to help characterise the offence, not automatically reduce the sanction.

Aggravating Factors: Conversely, if the retaliation is calculated and intentional, it may be considered an aggravating factor, potentially leading to a longer suspension.

There are three discussion points which will affect the minimum sanction, per point, which is.

Was the eye contact accidental - minimum ban entry point of 12 weeks

Was the eye contact reckless - minimum ban entry level of 18 weeks

Was the eye contact intentional - minimum ban entry level of 24 weeks

Given that these are only the minumum prescribed sanctions per point, and the video footage looks terrible and basically shows intent from Eben to gouge the eye, especially the way he bends his thumb into the eye..... I reckon Eben will be extremely extremely lucky to get anything less than a full year ban.

MAMPARA Pakster, Shark OK took the trouble to post the actual laws so go and look at his article.

Intention and provocation amongst other things are mitigating factors.

Also go and see the actual penalties the law prescribes.

12 weeks off so that Eben can have a good rest will be fine by me.

I could see zero evidence of any damage to Mann. The medical report will show if there were any injuries and close up video analysis where Eben!'s fingers reached.

Given the comments it's obvious that Mlmembers of MGU are hoping Eben is a goner.