Two player bans for “making contact with the eye area” have been dished out by rugby administrators in the last 2 weeks. One for 3 weeks (Francois Louw) and one for 7 weeks (Kyle Sinckler). While there can be no doubt that making contact with an eye of a fellow player has no place on the field, was one of these acts really more than twice as bad as the other?

The current regulations provide a scale of seriousness:

Lower end: up to 12-week ban.

Mid range: up to 18-week ban.

Top end: greater than 24-week ban.

But how do administrators deduce the exact punishment and which scale band the act fits into? These decisions can effect a large chunk of a player’s season, of which there are only a few in a players relatively short career. Rugby’s governing bodies have to make this process more consistent, as the faith of the fan (and presumably player) is being sorely tested in this area due to the seemingly arbitrary nature of some of the decision making during citing hearings. Here are a few examples of “gouges” with their severity of punishment:

Francois Louw (3 weeks):

Kyle Sinckler (7 weeks):

Josaia Raisuqe (15 weeks):

George Earle (8 weeks):

David Wilson (no sanction):

Julien Dupuy (23 weeks):

Schalk Burger (8 weeks):

Owen Franks (no sanction):

Roberto Grau (9 weeks):

Neil Best (18 weeks):

Chris Ashton (10 weeks):

Ed O’Donoghue (no sanction):

Alan Quinlan (12 weeks):

Tomas Francis (8 weeks):

Mark Cueto (9 weeks):

Matthieu Ugalde (14 weeks):

Sergio Parisse (8 weeks):

Bismarck du Plessis (3 weeks):