Fijian winger Eroni Sau has been suspended for five weeks, effectively ruling him out of the Vodafone Flying Fijians final November Test against Georgia this week.
Sau was red carded for a dangerous tackle in Fiji’s 38-23 defeat by Wales on Monday morning.
He appeared before a disciplinary committee chaired by Pamela Woodman (Scotland), joined by former international coach Frank Hadden (Scotland) and former international Martyn Wood (England) who “did not find that the referee’s decision was wrong” and upheld the red card.
In a statement, World Rugby said Sau accepted that he had made direct contact to the head of his opponent but denied that he had committed an act of foul play (and so the issue of a red card was not warranted).
“Having reviewed all the evidence, the committee decided, on the balance of probabilities, that there had been direct contact by the player to the head of the player’s opponent, with force and with a high degree of danger and that there was no applicable mitigation which would change the outcome from a red card.”
Sau will also miss four of his club matches with Provence, and should be cleared to play after 17 December. But, he could be back on the field as early as 11 December if he completes a head contact coaching intervention programme aimed at modifying specific techniques and technical issues that contributed to the foul play.
Photo: Fiji Rugby
