Hock ban hits World Cup hopes

6:21pm Tuesday 29th July 2008

Wigan forward Gareth Hock will miss the rest of the regular season after being suspended for five games by the Rugby Football League.

The 24-year-old has been found guilty of grabbing a referee's arm and acting 'contrary to the true spirit of the game', and will now be forced to sit out Wigan's five remaining matches against Hull, Catalans, Wakefield, Leeds and St Helens.

Hock, who was also fined £500, was sent off by referee Ian Smith in the 74th minute of Wigan's 34-4 home defeat to Huddersfield on Friday night for showing dissent to one of his decisions before grabbing the Oldham-based official by the arm.

Should Wigan make the play-offs then Hock will be eligible for selection but the ban severely damages his hopes of being selected in the England squad for World Cup, which begins in October, as coach Tony Smith would be gambling on the form of a player with a maximum 17 appearances to his name all year.

It is the Wigan-born player's second suspension of the season after he missed the first two rounds following a dangerous throw in the last game of 2007.

He also missed six weeks with a broken thumb and sat out England's win over France in June with a hamstring injury.

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