WELLINGTON - Waikato Chiefs flanker Liam Messam escaped punishment Tuesday after a citation for a dangerous tackle in a weekend Super 15 match was downgraded to a lesser charge of unsportsmanlike conduct.
New Zealand All Blacks player Liam Messam looks on during the captains run at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton on June 20, 2014
The All Blacks player was called before the SANZAR judiciary over a tackle in the Chiefs' 12-11 loss to the Coastal Sharks in Durban on Saturday.
Judicial officer Jannie Lubbe said that after reviewing video evidence he agreed to downgrade the charge and Messam pleaded guilty to unsportsmanlike conduct.
Lubbe said he took Messam's "exemplary disciplinary record" into account.
"I concluded that no further sanction should be imposed as suspension would be wholly disproportionate to the level of offending in this case," he said.