Gloucester’s director of rugby, George Skivington, has come to the defence of 19-year-old flanker Deian Gwynne following a contentious incident in the team’s 34-14 Champions Cup victory over Castres Olympique. Gwynne, making his Champions Cup debut, was cited for making contact with the eye or eye area of Castres second row Florent Vanverberghe in the 48th minute at Kingsholm.
Referee Sam Grove-White issued Gwynne a yellow card after reviewing the incident via TMO, which showed contact around Vanverberghe’s eye area. Although the referees deemed the incident accidental during the match, such contact is a serious offence under Law 9.12. Consequently, citing commissioner Stuart Morgan-Scott has referred Gwynne to an independent disciplinary hearing scheduled for Tuesday evening.
According to World Rugby’s sanctions for foul play, a low-end offence like reckless eye contact typically starts with a six-week ban that may be reduced to three weeks for a guilty plea and a clean record. More severe breaches carry longer suspensions ranging up to 208 weeks.
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Skivington emphatically defended the young flanker, stating, “I believe it was completely accidental. There’s no way he intended to cause harm. He was trying to clear space and his hand unfortunately made contact. Watching the footage in real time, it’s clear this was a non-malicious incident. Deian has no malicious intent; this was just an unfortunate event for which he was penalised.”
The independent disciplinary panel comprises Marcello d’Orey (Portugal, Chair), Ken Owens (Wales), and Val Toma (Romania), who will hold the hearing via video conference.
Losing Gwynne to suspension would be a significant blow to Gloucester, especially in this demanding block of nine consecutive European and Gallagher Premiership fixtures. The club is already coping with injuries to key players including Max Llewellyn, Will Joseph, and Ben Redshaw.
Gloucester now prepare to face Munster this weekend, hoping for a strong showing despite the disciplinary uncertainty surrounding Gwynne.