Sale Sharks lock Hyron Andrews' fate in the hands of Welsh legend

Hyron Andrews has been cited by EPCR match Citing Commissioner, Stefano Marrama, for the yellow card he received in Sale’s record 70-point Champions Cup hammering at the hands of Toulouse.

Andrews is alleged to have tackled the home side’s replacement hooker, Peato Mauvaka, in a dangerous manner, in the 71th minute of the match, in contravention of Law 9.13.

The 30-year-old South African was shown a yellow card by referee Andrew Brace for the incident and now awaits the disciplinary committee’s verdict.

Former Wales hooker and captain Ken Owens and South African, Attie Heyns, have been appointed to consider the case, with Frenchman Philippe Cavalieros acting as the Chair.

Owens, who hung up his boots in 2024, has been sitting in EPCR disciplinary hearings for just over a year. He has also been involved in roles outside of rugby, including netball and now football. In January, he joined the Football Association of Wales’ new strategic advisory committee.

Given they started the season with a paucity of specialist options at lock, Sale boss Alex Sanderson will hope that the punishment, if any, is on the lenient side, as Andrews has played in every Champions Cup clash to date and six of the nine PREM fixtures.