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Northern Region Representative Rugby

10.0 Judicial-Discipline Procedures

JURISDICTION

NRRC have full jurisdiction to all disciplinary matter arising from matches played in the NRRC competitions and the following process will be adopted.  

NORTHERN REGION RUGBY COUNCIL (NRRC) DISCIPLINARY OFFICIALS

  1. A Northern Region Judicial Officer (NR JO) shall be appointed by the NRRC Chairman in consultation with the NRRC members.
  2. A Complaint Review Officer (CRO) shall be appointed by the NRRC Chairman in consultation with the NRRC members, at the AGM, to consider complaints.
  3. A Northern Region Designated Disciplinary Officer (NR DDO) shall be confirmed by the NRRC Chairman in consultation with the NRRC members at the AGM.  The NR DDO shall normally be the NRRC Secretary.
  4. A Northern Region Chairman of the Appeals Committee (NR CAC) shall be confirmed by the NRRC Chairman in consultation with the NRRC members at the AGM.  

DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES

  1. If a player is ordered off/sin binned the manager must inform their Union’s office with the player’s details before 9.00am of the Monday following the fixture via the MyRugby App for Managers “Notes on Team Sheet” and a follow-up email CCed to NRRC Secretary/NR DDO sec.draws.nrrc@gmail.com 027 6473685  on the first working day after the fixture.  Orderings Off/Sin Bins (Red and Yellow cards) will be managed under NZRU Disciplinary Rules 16-20.
  2. The Referee must fill out the ordering off form/sin bin report form, completing all sections in the MyRugby App, or email the completed form to the referee’s HOME Provincial Union(PU) CEO within 48 hours. 
  3. The PU CEO, or his DDO, on receiving the report merely records date/time of receipt and forwards the report to the offending player’s Union and CC’s the NRRC Secretary/NR DDO.
  4. If the offender’s player Union has not received a referee’s report by 48 hours they should make contact with the referee’s provincial union to follow it up.
  5. The Union where the match was played, and where the offence took place, should advise the visiting Union that they have had a player/players sent off, and should be expecting a referee’s report.
  6. NR DDO will record all ordering off /sin bin report forms , taking appropriate action on multiple sin bin reports to an individual player, and forward ordering off report forms to the NR JO for a decision on an automatic suspension or, to hold a hearing.  
  7. Hearings. Disciplinary Hearings will be held online using Zoom or MS Teams, typically on a Wednesday evening or other designated time. The player, team manager or designated support person and NR DDO are required for the Hearing which will be chaired by the NR JO.
  8. The Match Officials (particularly the reporting referee/assistant referee), should also make themselves available for the online hearing. If the Match Official is unavailable to attend the meeting, they should at least be contactable via mobile phone for any clarifications required by the NRJO.
  9. In all cases the results of judicial hearings will be verbally delivered by the NR JO at the conclusion of the hearing. This will be followed up with a written decision from the NRJO within 48 hours via the NR DDO and circulated to the CEO’s/Chairman and Referees Association of all participating unions involved in that particular competition in which the incident occurred.
  10.  Appeals. All participants have 7 days to appeal the NR JO’s decision from when they receive the written decision. The NRRC Chairman will appoint an NR Appeals Committee as required from non-affected PU Delegates or a nominated person from their PU.  In the event of an Appeal to a judicial decision, the DDO will consult with the NR CAC and assemble an Appeals committee to hear the Appeal.
  11. The Appeals Committee shall have 2 further non-conflicted members to hear appeals. The Chairman should be legally trained or an experienced JO.  The members shall be drawn from a pool of 9 nominees from the member PU’s who are experienced JO’s or disciplinary committee members in their own PU.
  12. In the event a PU or a person is wishing to submit an Appeal, they will be liable to costs of the Appeal of $200 which is payable on the submission of the Appeal and before the Appeal is heard. This fee will be refunded if the appeal is successful.
  13.   Complaints.  Complaints of foul play not detected by Match Officials are to be forwarded to the Secretary/DDO no later than 48 hours after completion of the match in which the foul play allegedly occurred.  The CRO will determine if complaints received from PU’s, RRA’s and the public, should proceed to a hearing. Complaints will be managed under NZRU Disciplinary Rules 21-27.

Note:   A player is suspended for an ordering off report until they appear before the judicial hearing, or receives the results from the judicial hearing/decision.   

Updated 2024