Wallabies centre Hunter Paisami will miss the Bledisloe Cup after a SANZAAR disciplinary committee imposed a four-match suspension for a dangerous tackle against the Springboks in Perth.
According to a SANZAAR release quoted by ESPN and RugbyPass, the disciplinary committee found Paisami guilty of dangerous play under Law 9.13 for his late tackle on Springboks replacement Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu in Australia’s 42-38 win in Perth.
TSB previously covered the citation and squad context in Macpherson’s call-up while Paisami awaited the hearing.
What the committee decided
“The Committee determined that the act of foul play merited a mid-range entry point of six weeks/matches,” the SANZAAR release said, as reported by ESPN.
“In light of Paisami accepting that he committed an act of foul play, as well as mitigating factors such as his recent disciplinary record, conduct, and remorse, the Committee applied a 2 week/match reduction on the sanction.
“Paisami has been suspended from all forms of the game for four weeks.”
That leaves the Reds midfielder unavailable for Les Kiss’s Bledisloe series opener against the All Blacks in Auckland. ESPN reported Jock Campbell has been brought into the 34-man squad as cover, while Paisami had been named subject to the hearing outcome when the squad was first unveiled.
How we got here
Paisami was yellow-carded late in the Springboks Test and cited for a dangerous tackle. After the Foul Play Review Committee stage, he opted to take the matter to a full SANZAAR Disciplinary Committee hearing on the evening of Wednesday 30 September, with Ultimate Rugby saying a further update would follow on Thursday 1 October. The committee outcome is now being reported with the SANZAAR wording above.
This is a sporting judiciary matter only. TSB is reporting the published SANZAAR sanction and attributed committee findings.
Midfield picture for Bledisloe
Kiss still has options around Len Ikitau’s ankle recovery, Jordan Petaia’s return pathway, Isaac Henry, and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii’s recent wing experiment — all previously noted when the Bledisloe squad was named after the dramatic 42-38 Perth win.
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