Northampton Saints forward Calum Clark has been cited following an incident in the LV Cup Final (Anglo-Welsh) at Sixways on the weekend. Leicester Tigers hooker Rob Hawkins left the field with a broken arm after the incident.
It happened so quickly that the commentators failed to spot it and there weren’t any replays shown at the time. After seeing the injury though, Tigers boss Richard Cockerill was furious at Clark, who appeared to bend Hawkins arm in a direction opposite to his body, hyperextending the elbow in a move that looked more like an MMA ‘armbar’ than anything that should be seen on the rugby field.
“If Calum Clark is deemed to have done it on purpose it’s pretty horrendous,” Cockerill told BBC Radio Leicester. “Something’s gone on there but we’ll let them [the citing commissioners] look at it and sort it out. It’s a petty poor act.
“I think it’s really out of order and in my opinion it’s as bad an injury as I’ve seen on a rugby field,” he added, saying that Hawkins’ elbow has infact been fractured.
After the game Cockerill could be seen speaking quite firmly to Clark, with rumours suggesting that he told him he will be receiving a 12 month suspension for what he did.
It’s been confirmed that Clark has now been cited, the outcome of which should be a seriously hefty ban, unless he can come up with some reasoning for his actions. As for Hawkins, his season is over.
“He will miss the rest of the season and I am really disappointed for him. He has had a good run and was really keen to impress because he is trying to earn a new contract. Now that opportunity has been taken away from him,” said Cockerill.
You can view official highlights of the match here
What is your take on the incident, and how long do you think the suspension should be?
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