Jordie Barrett has been banned for three weeks after his red card in his 100th Hurricanes match against the Reds.
The All Blacks midfielder was sent off for a high shot in the 56th minute on counterpart Jordan Petaia in Melbourne on Sunday.
The Hurricanes still won 38-33 in golden-point extra-time after finishing with 14 men because of Barrett’s dismissal.
The 27-year-old faced Sanzaar’s foul play review committee and his red card was upheld. He was found guilty of contravening Law 9.13: A player must not tackle an opponent early, late or dangerously.
He will miss his team’s next three matches in Super Rugby Pacific, starting with Saturday night’s home fixture in Wellington against the Blues at Sky Stadium.
The Hurricanes are away to the Crusaders in Christchurch next Friday night and host the Rebels in Palmerston North the following week. Barrett will also be unavailable for those fixtures.
He might get a lighter punishment if he attends World Rugby’s tackle school, the coaching intervention programme where players can get their suspensions reduced.
Committee chair Stephen Hardy said Barrett’s act of foul play was always illegal.
Barrett was a facing a six-week ban, but it was reduced to three because of mitigating factors.
Meanwhile, Moana Pasifika winger Nigel Ah Wong was only issued with a warning for his red card for a shoulder charge in their thrilling 39-36 win over the Fijian Drua.
Source: Stuff.co
