Lousi's second red card in 13 Scarlets appearances gets four-week ban

Sam Lousi will miss three Scarlets games following his four-week ban after his red card during last weekend's 20-7 defeat to Glasgow at Scotstoun. Lousi was penalised in the 43rd minute for a shoulder to the head of Ratu Tagive, the Glasgow winger who had just landed on the ground after fielding high ball with the score at the time 10-0 in favour of the Warriors. 

Referee Frank Murphy brandished the red card and Lousi will not be able to play again until November 9, meaning he will miss Scarlets' PRO14 games against Benetton, Edinburgh and Zebre.  

A PRO14 statement read: "Lousi was shown a red card by referee Frank Murphy (IRFU) under Law 9.13 – a player must not tackle an opponent early, late, or dangerously.

"Dangerous tackling includes, but is not limited to, tackling, or attempting to tackle an opponent above the line of the shoulder even if the tackle starts below the line of the shoulders.

"The disciplinary hearing was handled by Roddy Dunlop (Scotland) and it was accepted that the player’s actions warranted a red card for foul play. The incident was deemed a mid-range offence, which carries a six-week suspension.

"Due to the player’s previous disciplinary record (red card for punching incident, February 2020), the judicial officer could not offer full mitigation, resulting in a four-week suspension. The player is free to resume playing from midnight on November 9."

Lousi was previously in red card trouble against Munster eight months ago and was banned for five weeks after getting red-carded by referee Mike Adamson for a striking offence that had a ten-week punishment entry point before getting halved due to the Tongan's then previous clean disciplinary record, acceptance of his actions and remorse shown.

The 29-year-old has now collected two red cards in 13 appearances since joining the Welsh region from the Hurricanes after playing in all Tonga's games at the 2019 World Cup in Japan.