Saints star Langdon hit with a ban after being dismissed against Munster

Saints hooker Curtis Langdon has been banned for four weeks after being sent off in the 26-23 win at Munster last Saturday.
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Langdon was dismissed for what referee Tual Trainini felt was reckless contact with the head of Tom Ahern at the breakdown.

The Saints hooker's knee had accidentally hit Ahern's head as he was on the way down but then as Langdon went in to clear the ruck out, his other knee also hit the head of the same player.

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The Munster lock was forced off for a concussion check, while Trainini reviewed the incident and decided it was reckless from Langdon, meaning he was shown the red card.

Curtis Langdon (photo by Pete Norton/Getty Images)Curtis Langdon (photo by Pete Norton/Getty Images)
Curtis Langdon (photo by Pete Norton/Getty Images)

An independent disciplinary hearing took place on Tuesday, with the committee studying video imagery of the incident as well as hearing evidence from Langdon, who accepted the red card decision.

The committee also heard submissions from the player’s legal representative, John Shea, from Saints' head of recruitment and retention, Paul Shields, and from the EPCR disciplinary officer, Liam McTiernan.

The committee upheld the red card decision and determined that Langdon should be sanctioned for striking with the knee under Law 9.12, which states that a player must not do anything that is reckless or dangerous to others.

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Under World Rugby’s sanctions for foul play, Law 9.11 carries the following sanction entry points - low end: two weeks; mid-range: six weeks; top end: 10 to 52 weeks.

The committee then decided that the offending was at the mid-range of World Rugby’s sanctions and eight weeks was selected as the appropriate entry point.

Taking into account the player’s guilty plea and his clear disciplinary record, the committee decided to reduce the sanction by the maximum of 50 per cent before imposing a four-week suspension.

The date when Langdon can return to play will be determined once the committee has received full details of his future playing schedule.

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It could well be that he only misses one league match for Saints, against Newcastle Falcons on Saturday, as the black, green and gold have two friendlies at the start of March, while Langdon was in contention to play for England A against Portugal next month.

If that is the case, Langdon would be able to return for the Gallagher Premiership match at Bristol Bears on March 22.

Both the player and EPCR have the right to appeal the decision that was made at Tuesday's hearing.

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