Sanderson out of George tournament

Two-week ban for 'striking an opponent'

England Sevens star Pat Sanderson has been ruled out of the George leg of the International Rugby Board (IRB) Sevens series this week, after he was slapped with a two-week ban by a Rugby Football Union (RFU) disciplinary hearing on Tuesday.

Sanderson, of Worcester Warriors, was banned for striking an opponent in the Zurich Premiership match against London Wasps on November 26.

He was cited after the match, but the usual red tape and delays in the handling of these matters meant that Sanderson was allowed to play for England in the Dubai Sevens last week - the opening round of the IRB Sevens series.

He played a starring role in a tournament England won, after dispatching Fiji 26-21 in the Final.

Sanderson's hearing eventually took place on Tuesday, December 7, where Sanderson's 'guilty plea' was accepted in his absence.

He was suspended from the IRB Sevens tournament in George, South Africa, (on December 10 and 11) and the Powergen Cup sixth round tie with London Irish (December 18). He can play again on December 20.

England was also forced into replacing captain Simon Amor - a victim of an illegal challenge in the Dubai Final against Fiji. He was replaced by Ben Gollings.

A more than adequate replacement, Gollings takes his place after proving his Sevens fitness in the international Invitational event in Dubai, where he memorably lined up against Waisale Serevi in the semi-final.

The South Africa Sevens in George is the second event in the 2004/05 IRB Sevens series.

The hosts, South Africa, have also been forced into a scramble to find enough replacements for a host of injuries.

Head coach Paul Treu revealed on Tuesday that Dubai star Mzwandile Stick - the scorer of two hat-tricks - have joined his list of injured players.

Already in Dubai, Treu could not count on the expert Sevens experience of seasoned stars like Fabian Juries, due to an ankle injury sustained in a training accident (he is out for three months), and Marius Schoeman (injured quadriceps muscle - two months).

In the aftermath of the Round One event, Anton Pitout and captain Marc de Marigny were also ruled out.

The Springboks, who went down 14-5 in a bruising semi-final encounter with England in Dubai, learned this week that De Marigny, who tore his knee ligaments in scoring his team's only try in the semi, is out for nine months and powerful winger Anton Pitout, who broke his ankle during that match, is sidelined for six.

True confirmed that he has called up Jonghikhaya Nokwe, the Boland flyer who hasn't touched a ball in anger on South Africa's just completed tour of the British Isles and Argentina.

"The injuries we picked up in the semi-final were unfortunate," said newcomer to the national Sevens team Gareth Krause. "But we've got 'Jongi' Nokwe, Wayne van Heerden and Dale Heidtman all covering. Van Heerden and Heidtman both have lots of Sevens experience and have gelled in training really well."

Treu was hoping to call on the exceptional talents of Sharks utility back Brent Russell, but a broken nose has ruled him out.

However, Krause sees some positives ahead of a George title chase there for the taking in an increasingly open IRB Sevens series.

"We went to Dubai with high hopes and unfortunately didn't achieve our goal of winning the trophy, but take plenty of positives out of the event.

"There were five new members in the squad and we all managed to get game time, get a taste of the action and enjoy it, and that can only be good for the future."

For the George event Namibia also come into the series for the first time this year, replacing Uganda.

"The competition level is such that right now anybody can beat anyone else on any given day. We saw that over in Dubai with Uganda beating France," said Krause.

"Obviously the big teams are New Zealand, Fiji and England but you can't write off anybody. Any team can make a mistake at this level and cost themselves the game, and hopefully that won't be us."