RWC 2021 independent disciplinary update: Donna Rose (Wales)

Wales front row Donna Rose has been suspended for two weeks, having appeared before an independent judicial committee on Tuesday after being cited in Wales' Rugby World Cup 2021 Pool A match with New Zealand on 16 October for an offence pursuant to Law 9.20(b).

Rose appeared before an independent judicial committee on Tuesday having been cited in Wales’ Rugby World Cup 2021 Pool A match with New Zealand on 16 October, 2022 for an offence pursuant to Law 9.20(b) (Making contact with an opponent in the ruck above the line of the shoulders).

The independent Disciplinary Committee was chaired by Brenda Heather-Latu (Samoa), joined by former player David Croft (Australia) and former referee Juan Pablo Spirandelli (Argentina).

Having considered the player’s evidence and reviewed the clips, the Committee decided to uphold the citing. The Committee applied World Rugby’s mandatory minimum mid-range entry point for foul play resulting in contact with the head. This resulted in a starting point of a four-week suspension.

The Committee took into consideration the mitigating factors and decided that the player was entitled to the full mitigation available (two weeks). The Committee decided there were no aggravating factors and therefore the final sanction was a two-week suspension.

The player may apply to take part in the Coaching Intervention Programme to substitute the final week of the sanction for a coaching intervention aimed at modifying specific techniques and technical issues that contributed to the foul play. Further information can be found here.

The player is therefore suspended for Wales’ last Pool A match against Australia on 22 October with the remaining week to be determined once it is known if Wales have reached the knockout phase.

The player has the right of appeal within 48 hours of the issuing of the full written decision, which will appear here once published. 

Click here to watch the video that explains how rugby’s disciplinary process works.

Visit World Rugby’s dedicated disciplinary process education and information page here.