'We are absolutely flabbergasted': Stormers coach vexed by young prop's 3-match ban

Stormers coach John Dobson said he couldn't understand the sanction imposed on young prop Sazi Sandi after he received a red card in last weekend's win against Edinburgh in Cape Town.

The United Rugby Championship (URC) holders conceded three cards in the game, including Sandi's high shot on Jamie Ritchie which was deemed to be a head on head tackle.

"The panel overseeing the disciplinary process, David Martin (Chair) and Kim Moloney (both Ireland), Chris Watts (Wales) found that the incident met the red card threshold, with entry of mid-range warranting 6 weeks," a statement from the URC read.

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Sandi however gained "full mitigation due to his behaviour and clean record which resulted in a three week/game suspension. The panel confirmed that he can apply to World Rugby for the HPC Coaching Intervention, which would reduce his suspension to two games".

Commenting on the matter after announcing his team for Saturday's match against Zebre at the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Dobson said:

The ruling means that Sandi will miss the Stormers' clashes against Zebre Parma, Ospreys and Cardiff, which all form part of their current URC away tour. 

"The other thing that concerns me about the Sandi thing is: he gets a three-week ban, and I don't know what else he could have done [in the tackle]. I don't know what you're telling Sazi not to do anymore.

"I really feel for Sazi because it's frustrating in some ways. I thought Sazi was brilliant when he came on last week and I'm excited about his future, but we need to give him time in the saddle so having him banned for three weeks isn't great for his development, but we look forward to having him back."

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