REGULATION 17 (d) the nature of the actions, the manner in which the offence was committed including part of body used (for example, fist, elbow, knee or boot); (e) the existence of provocation; (f) whether the Player acted in retaliation and the timing of such; (g) whether the Player acted in self-defence (that is whether he used a reasonable degree of force in defending himself); (h) the effect of the Player’s actions on the victim (for example, extent of injury, removal of victim Player from the game); (i) the effect of the Player’s actions on the Match; (j) the vulnerability of the victim Player including part of victim’s body involved/affected, position of the victim Player, ability to defend himself; (k) the level of participation in the offending and level of premeditation; (l) whether the conduct of the offending Player was completed or amounted to an attempt; and (m) any other feature of the Player’s conduct in relation to or connected with the offending. Based on the assessment of the offence(s) under consideration against the above features of offending, the Disciplinary Committee or Judicial Officer shall categorise the act of Foul Play as being at the lower end, mid range or top end of the scale of seriousness of offending and identify the applicable entry point as set out in Appendix 1. 17.19.3 For offences categorised at the top end of the scale of seriousness of offending, the Disciplinary Committee or Judicial Officer shall identify an entry point between the period shown as the top end for the particular office and the maximum sanction in Appendix 1.3 Aggravating Factors 17.19.4 Having identified the applicable entry point for consideration of a particular incident, the Disciplinary Committees or Judicial Officers shall identify any relevant off-field aggravating factors and determine what additional period of suspension, if any, above the applicable entry point for the offence should apply to the case in question. Aggravating factors include: 3 The plus sign against each top end period suspension denotes this entitlement and flexibility. Last update: 14 January, 2015 254
World Rugby Handbook
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