Hurricanes captain Ardie Savea has been cited for making a throat-slitting gesture towards an opponent, with Super Rugby Pacific officials to consider whether he contravened "the spirit of good sportsmanship".
All Blacks star Savea ran his thumb across his throat during an argument with Melbourne Rebels halfback Ryan Louwrens, moments after being shown a yellow card during Friday's match in Melbourne.
Not a great look!
— ESPN Scrum (@espnscrum) March 3, 2023
Ardie Savea cops a yellow card and then does a throat-slit gesture as he's walking off.#REBvHURpic.twitter.com/fk5HB3bSlY
The 29-year-old later apologised and said, as a role model, he regretted the action which overshadowed his team's 39-33 win.
“I put my hand up and I apologise for that.” An honest reflection from Ardie Savea post-match ???
— Stan Sport Rugby (@StanSportRugby) March 3, 2023
? Rebels v Hurricanes, LIVE NOW. Every Match. Ad-free. Live & On Demand on the Home of Rugby, Stan Sport.#StanSportAU #SuperRugbyPacific #REBvHUR pic.twitter.com/152gThQF6l
However, the match citing commissioner deemed the gesture met the "red card threshold for foul play" and a further sanction will be considered by a foul play review committee on Monday.
Savea, regarded as one of the world's premier players, was initially shown yellow for "escalating" a fracas involving both teams.
Rebels veteran Reece Hodge complained to the referee that Savea's subsequent gesture towards Louwrens was "threatening to kill him".
Savea, who has played 70 tests for the All Blacks, including four as captain, admitted he lost control and revealed he got a dressing-down from his father after the game.
"I got off the field and my old man called me and kind of groaned me off so that's a lesson learned," he told reporters.
"He's a pretty calm dude, it's not often I get a call like that after the game. Mum was in the crowd too and she asked if I was all good, because usually I'm not like that."
A second Hurricanes forward, prop Tevita Mafileo, was cited for foul play after receiving a red card for dangerous play at a ruck.
Mafileo was originally shown a yellow card but became the competition's first player to have that sanction later upgraded to red by the television match official - a power introduced by the tournament organisers SANZAAR to speed up play.
