Stormers fullback Robert du Preez and Sharks centre André Esterhuizen have received six and four-week suspensions respectively for tip tackles at Kings Park.

The incident involving Du Preez occurred in the 76th minute of the match on Saturday.

'After initially reviewing the video footage, citing commissioner's report and the sin bin report from the referee, I heard from the player to obtain his account of the incident,' said Sanzar duty judicial officer Nigel Hampton. 'The player accepted that he was guilty of the cited offence and I then identified the various factors involved in the incident.

'I considered the incident had an entry point in the mid-range which starts at an eight-week suspension for lifting tackles. I then added two weeks as a deterrent to send a further message that this type of tackle cannot be tolerated in the game due to the risk it poses to players. There have been a number of decisions relating to lifting tackles this year with a deterrent increase of this size being added. A further increase in this level of deterrence may be required in the future as the additional two-week increase to sanction does not seem to be having the required effect of getting rid of these tackles.

'Mitigating factors included the player admitting guilt for the offence and demonstrating remorse for his actions at all times through the process. The player has a good disciplinary record and his youth along with inexperience were taken into account. These, among other factors, entitles the player to a 50% reduction from the entry point, which results in a reduction of four weeks and meaning a six-week sanction is to be imposed, which was accepted by the player.'

The incident involving Esterhuizen occurred in the 10th minute of the match.

'I initially reviewed the video footage, the citing commissioner's report and the reports from the referee and TMO,' said Hampton. 'I established that the player accepted he was guilty of the cited offence and I then identified the various factors involved in the incident.

'I considered the incident had an entry point in the low-end range which starts at a four-week suspension for lifting tackles. It appeared from the video that the actions of the Sharks' halfback had some effect on the Stormers' player as he came to ground on his upper body. However, Esterhuizen was clearly the major contributor to this dangerous tackle, which he accepted.'

Like with Du Preez, Hampton added two weeks to Esterhuizen's sentence as a deterrent. He also reduced the sentence by 50% after taking his good disciplinary record into account.

Photo: Steve Haag/Gallo Images