Harrison ordered to 'cool' it'

Australia lock Justin Harrison has been told to 'cool it' by coach Eddie Jones after he and South African prop Faan Rautenbach escaped further punishment following their sin-binning in Saturday night's furious Tri-Nations match in Brisbane.

The two players were cited after a first-half brawl was sparked when Springbok full-back Werner Greef tackled his opposite number Chris Latham whilst he was still in the air.

Today Harrison and Rautenbach appeared before the SANZAR judiciary committee which decided that their sin-binning by English referee Steve Lander was punishment enough.

Harrison, who was yellow carded for striking Greeff, will now be able to play in next Saturday's Tri-Nations clash against New Zealand in Sydney.

Jones has warned the lock about his future behaviour but insisted Harrison had not instigated the fight.

"What Harrison tried to do was to separate another player from the melee," said Jones.

"It was felt that Justin's actions on the field were punished by the referee, but you have got to be careful in those situations when they boil over.

"Emotion in the tight five is always a tough thing and it is something that we need to keep under control. It is not good for the game of rugby and we don't like to be involved in those incidents."

He added: "We are a side that prides itself on fair play and we are disappointed with our actions and we will learn from it."

Today Harrison was already talking about controlling his emotions, though there was a feeling in the Wallaby camp that Springbok baiting, particularly over the Ben Tune drugs affair, had stretched tempers to their limit.

"All players hate to be involved in a situation like that," Harrison said. "I will certainly be avoiding those situations in the future.

"It's a huge game next week, particularly after such a good win last night, and it is particularly disappointing to have that win tarnished."

Rautenbach was not spotted by either the referee or his touch judges. But the committee were satisfied that the accusation of striking had been proved.

However, they felt in view of the circumstances and the fact that a number of other players were involved, a penalty equivalent to a yellow card was sufficient.

Wallaby hooker Jeremy Paul and South Africa's Greeff were also sin-binned at the time and were both cited, but commissioner Dave Grey later decided not to charge the Australian.