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Four-week ban for Chiefs back Fa'auli
By Christopher Devine
Super Rugby high-fliers Chiefs will be without Johnny Fa'auli throughout April after the back received a four-week ban for a dangerous tackle in Friday's victory over Bulls.
Fa'auli was cited by SANZAAR - the body that operates Super Rugby - for an apparent shoulder charge on Jan Serfontein.
On Sunday, SANZAAR confirmed Fa'auli had entered a guilty plea to its Foul Play Review Committee and would now be unavailable up to and including April 29.
Foul Play Review Committee chairman Nigel Hampton QC stated: "Having conducted a detailed review of all the available evidence, including all camera angles and additional evidence, including from the player and submissions from his legal representative, Aaron Lloyd, the Foul Play Review Committee upheld the citing under Law 10.4(e) Dangerous tackling of an Opponent."
"With respect to sanction the Foul Play Review Committee deemed the act of foul play merited a mid-range entry point of six weeks. However, taking into account mitigating factors including the player's early guilty plea, the Foul Play Review Committee reduced the suspension to four weeks."
Fa'auli will therefore miss Chiefs' upcoming matches against away matches against Stormers, Cheetahs and Western Force, in addition to a home clash with Sunwolves.
Chiefs, losing semi-finalists in 2016, have won their opening five matches this term.
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Latest Comments
Were you shocked by Sexton trying to rip Barrett's head off when he scored that final try in that return game?
Sexton once again the beneficiary of incredible double standards. Some of the rules simply didn't apply to him. The referee even watched that replay about 5 times in slow motion to see if he grounded the ball. If an NZ player had made that tackle it would have been a yellow card.
Ireland led by Sexton were the biggest bunch of whingers to ever play the game. NZ's dislike of Ireland was not caused by losing to them, it was caused by the Irish players, commentators and media being such giant crybabies.
I genuinely think Ireland are the best team in the world, and I think they will beat the ABs on Friday, but they are by some distance the team I like the least, and I know many people, not just from NZ, who feel the same.
Go to commentsThanks for the analysis Nick, thought provoking as usual. Couple of queries though, in the pic where you've circled Williams bind , I'm pretty sure it shows Stuart's knee on the ground, surely that's a NZ penalty? Also having had the chance to watch it again the All Black scrum seeems to improve after halftime, but before either England or the All Blacks replace their props. Not sure if that was the result of Tuipolutu coming on or some halftime tips. Either way this is only Williams second international season, so he'll be better for the experience.
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