It is understood their legal advice gave them little chance of winning an injunction. Finegan will now serve out a ban that will end just five days before the first Test against the British Lions, to be played on June 30. We're accepting the decision and getting on with it. And when a match official intervenes, this Tribunal will support in principle stern but fair action on the part of the Judicial Committee. The majority view is that the Judicial Committee's decision cannot be said to be excessive.
All players have a responsibility to abide by the laws of the game.
In this matter, the Tribunal has found that the player did not do so and has been guilty of dangerous play. It is the unanimous view of the Tribunal that the player is guilty of the offence as charged. The Finegan case was not the only controversy surrounding the Brumbies on the eve of the Super 12 final. Centre Rod Kafer, criticised last week by Australian Rugby Union general manager John O'Neill for suggesting the Brumbies were treated like discards by the ARU, revisited the issue in a New Zealand rugby magazine. I was not aware that having an opinion and voicing it was not permissible under the ARU Code of Conduct.