Mitre 10 Cup star hit with suspension over dangerous tackle on Wellington captain Du'Plessis Kirifi
Bay of Plenty wing Fa'asiu Fuatai will miss his side's next three matches after being handed a three-week suspension for a dangerous lifting tackle on Wellington captain Du'Plessis Kirifi over the weekend.
Fuatai was sent from the field as a result of the second half incident, where both he and teammate Chase Tiatia lifted Kirifi while cleaning out a breakdown near their own tryline.
The manoeuvre forced Kirifi to land headfirst on the ground, leaving referee Brendon Pickerill with little choice other than to dish out a red card.
Although the entry point for a dangerous tackle sanction sits at six weeks, Fuatai's offence was deemed to be at the lower end of the spectrum in terms of seriousness.
That, combined with a mix of influencing factors - including having faced the judiciary for a similar offence in the past, expressing immediate remorse for his actions and apologising to Kirifi post-match - resulted in a suspension length of three weeks.
The ban will be another blow for Bay of Plenty, who went on to lose the game 32-10 leaving the Steamers in sixth place in the Premiership and five points clear of the relegation zone.
Bay of Plenty will be without Fuatai for their upcoming matches against Auckland, Tasman and Manawatu.
Read the full New Zealand Rugby press release below:
Bay of Plenty’s Fa’asiu Fuatai has received a three-week suspension after being red carded in the Wellington v Bay of Plenty match in Wellington on Friday 25 September.
Fuatai was sent from the field by referee Brendon Pickerill in the 66th minute of the match for his involvement in a lifting tackle that resulted in opposition player’s head making direct contact with the ground.
The Duty Judicial Officer Aminiasi Kefu found that Fuatai’s action was reckless and the entry point for the sanction was ruled to be at the lower end of the scale of seriousness which has a sanction of six weeks.
In taking into account aggravating factors, Kefu added two weeks to the sanction as Fuatai had previously been to the judiciary for a similar offence, noting the outcome needed to act as a deterrent to end the pattern of offending.
Kefu noted that another player was also involved in the tackle and that Fuatai’s participation was only moderate. Other mitigating factors included Fuatai expressing remorse and apologising to the opposition players directly after the match.
After considering all factors, the final suspension was confirmed as three weeks, Fuatai will miss Bay of Plenty’s matches again Auckland, Tasman and Manawatu.
In that same match, Bay of Plenty’s Jordan Lay was cited for dangerous play in a ruck, he will face a judicial hearing this week.
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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