Watch: Italy lock Niccolo Cannone banned for headbutting All Blacks halfback Cam Roigard

Tuesday, 14 July 2026

Italian lock Niccolo Cannone has been banned for four weeks after he headbutted All Blacks halfback Cam Roigard in Wellington last Saturday night.

Cannone was red carded following incident, which happened in the 52nd minute of the Nations Championship match at Hnry Stadium. It didn’t result in an injury to Roigard, who played an influential role in the All Blacks’ 47-17 victory.

Cannone was initially yellow carded before the sanction was upgraded to a red. That led to the Italians being reduced to 14 men for 20 minutes.

Roigard, who scored a try five minutes earlier, didn’t react and showed no ill-effects from Cannone making contact. The All Blacks were leading 33-10 at the time.

French referee Luc Ramos failed to notice the incident, but it was brought to his attention by the off-field officials who told him it warranted further inspection.

Marius van der Westhuizen of South Africa was the foul play review officer. Ben Whitehouse (Wales) was the television match official.

Sanzaar stated in a press release that the Foul Play Review Committee (FPRC) had found Cannone guilty of physical abuse in contravention of Law 9.12.

“The dangerous play, for which Cannone received a red card, occurred in the 52nd minute of the Nations Championship match between New Zealand and Italy at Hnry Stadium, Wellington.

“The FPRC determined that the act of foul play merited a low-end entry point of six weeks/matches.

“In light of Cannone’s acceptance that he committed an act of foul play worthy of ordering off, as well as mitigating factors such as his disciplinary record, conduct, and remorse, the FPRC applied a 2-week reduction to the sanction.

“Cannone has been suspended from all forms of the game for four weeks.’’