Brumbies hooker Josh Mann-Rea will find out on Monday whether a late brain snap against the Stormers will cost him any Super Rugby time.
Mann-Rea was red carded in the 63rd minute after throwing a number of punches in a scuffle with Oli Kebble when the Brumbies trailed by five points.
The send-off arguably took the game out of the Brumbies’ reach, with the Stormers running in a penalty and two more tries
Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham said there was no excuse for Mann-Rea’s actions and that the hooker was “bitterly disappointed”.
“It doesn’t matter what sparked the incident, he shouldn’t have thrown a punch,” he said.
“He’s bitterly disappointed that he threw a punch because it’s pretty black and white in the law book. You throw a punch you’re off the field."
Larkham lamented the impact the card had on the final stages of the game. .
“The red card really hurt us in terms of our set piece and there was one less number around the paddock to defend with,” he said.
“Up until that point it was anyone’s game.
“I think if we had 15 on the paddock at the end it would’ve been obviously a lot tighter.”
Larkham said at first glance the on-field punishment for Mann-Rea seemed harsh.
“We’ll obviously have a judicial hearing on Monday,” he said.
“For mine I’ll have a look at it again, I don’t think it should have been a red card so we’ll have a look on Monday
Larkham was more circumspect over a decision late in the match to award a try to Dillyn Leads, though the winger looked to drop the ball over the line.
“We’d probably be arguing it for the same way if we’d scored a try like that,” he said.
“You could probably say that the ball was in contact all the way down so it is what it is.
“They got over the line whether he dropped it or put it down, the fact is he got it over the line and it’s something we’ll look at.”
The Brumbies have minimal injury concerns coming out of the match, with facial bruising to Henry Speight the only concern out of the Stormers game.
Late withdrawal, Jarrad Butler, will fly home on Sunday, set to miss at least a month with a medial injury, while the rest of the squad stays on to play the Cheetahs in Bloemfoentein next Saturday.
