Burger ban halved

He now misses the pool games against England in Paris tomorrow and Tonga in Lens on Saturday week.

Burger was cited for a dangerous tackle on Samoa's scrum-half Junior Polu during the Springboks' win in Paris on Sunday.

He was not sin-binned by referee Paul Honiss after taking out Polu in mid-air, a decision which caused fury in the Samoan camp and was subsequently punished with a four-match ban at a disciplinary hearing.

Burger appealed against the ban and today's appeal committee, which consisted of chairman Justice Wyn Williams, Bruce Squire QC and Judge Guillermo Tragant, decided that the judicial officer had been wrong to rule that Burger was not at any time during the incident intending to win the ball.

On the basis of the video evidence and the transcript of the initial judicial officer hearing, the appeal committee decided that the player was attempting to win the ball for a significant part of the time involved.

However, the committee found that the player ultimately realised that he was not going to catch the ball and instinctively adjusted his approach to tackle the opposing player.

The committee concluded that the tackle was a dangerous one but noted that the arm of Burger was withdrawn following contact with the opposing player.

The committee decided the offence should be categorised as a lower-level entry offence rather than a mid-range offence and, having taken the player's previous disciplinary history into account, decided that the sanction imposed on the player should be two matches instead of four.