The Sharks halfback Rory Kockott will miss this weekend's Super 14 rugby match against the New South Wales Waratahs in Durban after being found guilty of striking Highlanders flanker Adam Thomson.
Kockott, the second highest scorer in the championship this season with 110 points, pleaded guilty to the offence and will be banned for one game.
The incident, which happened four minutes from full-time had a comical edge, as diminutive Kockott floored the much taller and stronger Thomson with a strike to the face and South African referee Phillip Bosch issued a red card.
A lawyer representing Kockott at the Durban hearing argued the sending-off was sufficient punishment, but the judicial officer deemed the action reckless and imposed a ban.
The Sharks, runners-up to the Bulls in the 2007 final, lie in fourth and Waratahs fifth, three points behind with two rounds of the season remaining.
