Hore getting 5 weeks suspension

I think Hore got away very lightly in this case.   He will not be allowed to play competitively before 24 February 2013 - ie the starting date of the 2013 Super Series compeition

The NH media is running riot about this incident following so shortly after the Thompson one.   They are really tarring the whole All Blacks team with the same brush - making them out to be thugs.   I think it is totally wrong and the impact could have been resolved by a statement that the two incidents are totally unacceptable to the All Black team and management.   

Remember - much of the storm after the Greyling debacle was defused by an immediate apology by Meyer and th teams own action - aside from the suspension was also taken.   Silence by Hansen and the team managment could by implication imply that the All Blacks are prepared to condone and accept dirty play.   Hope Hansen comes out strongly about this one.. 

 Hansen the Hore and co. No public apology to take accountability. Not good. 

No apology for that is pretty bad.  It was a clear punch to the head from behind. But I'm sure we will hear the "He was offside" argument....LOL

Hore just acted like a plonker on the day and it was to say the least a cheap shot. He and the coach should have made a public apology for his action and then be done with it. I still think if it had been a Saffar, it would have been 6months time out. AB's arent normally known for being thugs, but they are now.

hansen was asked his views on hores hit right after the game, which he replied (not word for word but pretty close), ive only seen the actual incident once on replay, but will reveiw it afterwards and if hore has a case to answer then he will for theres always a price to pay for foul play.

NH are making a real big stink out of this with steven jones a well known All Black hater leading the media charge. but despite the smoke screen on hores hit which for some reason has now according to one media outlet made all of the All Blacks previous 2012 undefeated tests meaningless, one needs to step back and ask why is there such a big deal being made up north???
in wales one could say that after winning the 6nats with a grandslam, NH top rugby nation has failed to register a win against any SH team, which include the likes of samoa and the pumas???

in englands case, after thumping fiji, the UK media had bragged about the english team being more then capable of beating the All blacks and were favourites to beat the injury ravaged wallabies and Boks team, but after losing both test matches, including the worst captaincy descion i have ever seen with robshaw opting for a penalty when trailing by 4 with under two minutes to go, im hardly surprised that all the atention is on everything thats not wales or eng rugby.

the reality is while hores hit was wrong, was it the wordt thing anyones seen in rugby??? here is where the hypocricy of UK media really starts to fu*king irk me. on the 2010 EOYT, All Blacks played wales in one of the best matches of the year, in the dying stages of the game, andy powell lays a swinging arm tackle on McCaw across the jaw which leaves hurt and well and trully dazed. when McCaw gets up, he points at powell who then flexes his arm at McCaw and starts pounding his chest & swearing.
everybody who witnessed that hit said it was deliberate and definately deserved to be cited. yet there was nothing in the media about it & i mean nothing cos i was regularly checking to see what was going to happen him for that hit.

i read one steven jones article which said for all the transgressions that McCaw has commited, he had it coming. he then retracted his comment and said that he didnt think that powell did it deliberately, despite him having a history of foul play.
andrew hores hit was bad and he deserves to get punished, but the NH hypocricy on the matter is making hores bitter pill piss easy to swallow.

ABs arent known as thugs, but now that two players with no priors have commited unspeakable hate crimes on a level never before heard of let alone seen, they are now??? pffffffft, whatever!!!

 He has now been dubbed as "cheap shot hore" in the Northern hemisphere. 

Hey Sasue

If Hansen just apologized afterwards, do you think that would have just helped a little? It seems a bit arrogant from AB management not to apologize.

we did not get any appologies from the NH or France for Rougerie gouging McCaw's eyes, nor did we get any appologies from the ARU for Cooper kneeing McCaw in the head or Higginbottom kneeing McCaw in the head and then headbutting him or Tugiri and the Phil Waugh for speaktackling McCaw almost breaking his neck! There was no appologies for the french pulling on testicles and poking eyes of both the Wallabies and the All Blacks players in the 1999 RWC!

What a bunch of NH pansies! They can dish it but they can't take it!

Davies deliberately run interference and got knocked out for it! Deal with it! Let that be a lesson, next time he will know better! Wales should pay the All Blacks for teaching them the rules!

 Sharkbok. Hore was on TV in NZ this morning saying what he did was wrong and that he'd let everyone down so to me that's an apology. He's apparently regularly visited Davies in hospital as well.

Moodaa

I am delighted to hear that about Hore - it really said something about him as a person   However - I think it would have helped as well if Hansen and McCaw followed the example set by Meyer and De Villiers after the McCaw incident and came clear on the said issue.    

All Blacks hooker Andrew Hore feels he let down his country, his team and himself after being suspended for five weeks for his deliberate swinging arm that knocked out Wales lock Bradley Davies in Cardiff last week.

Hore will miss Sunday's test against England and the first round of next year's Super Rugby season with his ban running through to February 24.

The IRB judiciary found Hore guilty of an intentional swinging arm and handed him the top end sanction of eight weeks.

His suspension was reduced by three weeks for his exemplary record during a 74-test career, genuine remorse and daily contact with Davies.

Hore called and texted Davies the day after the incident to apologise and check on his wellbeing.

Scottish judicial officer Lorne Crerar found Hore's swinging arm had been "inherently dangerous" and was "delivered with significant force" to an unsighted player.

However, he ruled Hore did not intend to make contact with Davies' head.

The 34-year-old's suspension includes the Highlanders' three Super Rugby pre-season matches next year, even though he was unlikely to play the majority of those as most All Blacks are granted leave through December and January, after the their test season concludes at Twickenham this weekend.

The judicial officer received unreserved assurances from All Blacks assistant coach Ian Foster that the pre-season matches had "significant and meaningful consequences" for the newly-appointed Highlanders captain.

After the hearing in Bristol a clean-shaven, sorry Hore fronted to media in London to explain the need to rebuild his reputation.

"I want to say how bad I feel and embarrassed to be in this situation," he said. "It's not the All Black way. I've let myself and the team down and probably the whole country that's pretty proud of what we do.

"I hope Bradley Davies gets back up and running and playing in the Heineken Cup as soon as he can. I've been on the phone. I talked to him on Sunday about the incident. The All Black management and senior leadership group has been pretty stern on me as well for getting us in this situation.

"Hopefully I can take what I've got and start building my reputation as a good clean hard footy player. Hopefully I can do that in the next Super Rugby season when I get back playing."

Hore felt it was an error in judgement which led to Davies being hospitalised.

"I was just trying to do my job by getting around and cleaning a ruck. I made a bad decision which has ended up with me being here," he said.

Foster moved to defend the silence surrounding the issue from the All Blacks' camp this week, saying it was important to follow protocol.

"We haven't said anything on this issue because there was a hearing," Foster said. "We're satisfied with the process we've been through. It's nice to hear Andrew express remorse for Bradley. It was good to put some context around the situation. He's been suspended. It's at the high level and he's accepted responsibility."

The All Blacks have been widely criticised - labelled thugs and cowards - in the wake of Adam Thomson and Hore's acts, but coach Steve Hansen believed the fallout was unjustified.

"We've played a lot of rugby this year. Two citings, though they are bad and we'll take responsibility for them, I don't think that makes us a dirty team either," he said.

"It's just unfortunate they both happened in such close proximity to each other. We're embarrassed by it too. We don't want to be seen to be a side like that because we don't play like that."

Earlier today, Hansen revealed Hore was embarrassed by the incident.

"I know Andrew is extremely embarrassed at the moment. He' splayed 300 first-class games and he's never been in front of a judicial committee before," Hansen said.

"In speaking to him his intensions were certainly not to hurt this guy.

"What he intended to do and what he ended up doing were two different things. He accepts he got it wrong and got it wrong badly. He knows he made a mistake.

"I'm happy to believe that his intent wasn't malice. I'm happy to believe he's made a mistake."

In other citings, Wallabies second-rower Sitaleki Timani has received a one week suspension for striking Italian prop Andrea Lo Cicero Vaina with his forearm. He will miss this weekend's test against Wales in Cardiff

All Black NZ

Thanks for the information provided.   Personally I think the matter should now rest and I think Hansen's statement is also acceptble - not as far as Meyer went in the Greyling case, but still adequate.  I believe the matter should now be put to bed.   No further action needed.