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Tevita Kuridrani to miss Super Rugby AU qualifying final as one of three suspended Wallabies
Former Wallabies midfielder Tevita Kuridrani will miss this week’s Super Rugby AU qualifying final after being handed a three-week suspension for a dangerous tackle.
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Kuridrani started in the Western Force’s shock 30-27 victory over the previously unbeaten Queensland Reds at HBF Park in Perth on Friday, but was yellow carded in just the second minute of the match for a spear tackle on his opposite Hunter Paisami.
Lifting the six-test Australian international past the horizontal line, Kuridrani was cleared of a red card due to the fact that Paisami broke his fall with his hand, which prevented his head from hitting the ground first.
However, that hasn’t saved Kuridrani from the SANZAAR foul play review committee, who deemed that he had contravened Law 9.18: A player must not lift an opponent off the ground and drop or drive that player so that their head and/or upper body make contact with the ground.
As a result, the 61-test international, who hasn’t played for the Wallabies since the 2019 World Cup, has been banned for three weeks, with his early guilty plea and good judicial record preventing the committee from handing down a full six-week ban.
It means Kuridrani will miss the Force’s historic match against his former side, the Brumbies, in Canberra this Saturday as the Western Australian franchise partake in their first-ever play-off match in their history.
Furthermore, the 30-year-old will miss next week’s Super Rugby AU final – should the Force qualify for it – against the Reds in Brisbane and the following week’s Super Rugby Trans-Tasman clash against the Chiefs in Perth.
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In the event the Force fail to qualify for the Super Rugby AU final, the SANZAAR foul play review committee has reserved the right to extend Kuridrani’s ban to the Force’s May 21 match against the Highlanders in Perth.
Kuridrani is one of three Wallabies to have been handed bans by SANZAAR following the latest round of Super Rugby AU.
Melbourne Rebels duo Isi Naisarani and Pone Fa’amausili will also sit out the next three weeks of action after picking up red cards in their side’s 36-25 win over the Waratahs in Sydney on Saturday.
The Rebels finished the match with just 13 men on the field, with eight-test Naisarani the first to be sent from the field for a high tackle on Waratahs lock Murray Douglas in the 20th minute.
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Under the new red card law being used in Super Rugby Aotearoa and Super Rugby AU, Naisarani was replaced after 20 minutes on the sideline, but Melbourne’s disciplinary troubles didn’t end there.
The Crusaders and Chiefs secured their places in next week’s Super Rugby Aotearoa final over the weekend, and there was no shortage of players who stood out during the latest round of action. #SuperRugbyAotearoa https://t.co/XowExOmM3y
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) April 27, 2021
Reserve hooker James Hanson was then yellow carded in the 75th minute for not rolling away from a breakdown, before Fa’amausili, the uncapped prop who was named in last year’s Wallabies squad for the Bledisloe Cup and Tri Nations, was red carded for another high tackle on Douglas just two minutes later.
Similarly to Kuridrani, both Naisarani and Fa’amausili pleaded guilty for their indiscretions and have clean judicial records, meaning they each avoided a full six-week sanction.
Because the Rebels didn’t qualify for the Super Rugby AU play-offs, Naisarani’s and Fa’amausili’s bans will extend to the grassroots level of the game.
As such, they will be unavailable for their Dewar Shield clubs – Endeavour Hills and Moorabbin, respectively – for the next fortnight.
They will also be banned from the Rebels’ first Super Rugby Trans-Tasman match against the Blues in Melbourne on May 15.
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Comments on RugbyPass
Oh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on the @r$e$ one week later?
26 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
2 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
2 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
7 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
5 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
5 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
5 Go to commentsNot sure exactly what went wrong for him at Glasgow but it’s pretty clear he ain’t Franco’s cup of tea. Suspect he would have been better served heading out of Scotland around the same time as Finn, Hoggy and Jonny!
1 Go to commentsBulls disrespected the Northampton supporters and the competition. Decide quickly, fully in or out.
26 Go to commentsI wonder if Parling was ever on England’s radar as a coach? Obviously Borthwick is a great lineout coach, but I do worry he might be taking on too much as both head coach and forwards coach.
1 Go to commentsJason Jenkins has one cap. When Etzebeth was his age he had over 80 caps. Experience matters. He will never amount to what Etzebeth has because he hasn’t been developed as an international player.
2 Go to commentsSays much about the player picking this gig over the easier and bigger rewards offered to him in Japan. Also says a lot about the state sanctioned tax benefits the Irish Revenue offers pro rugby players, with their ten highest earning years subject to an additional 40% tax relief and paid as a lump sum, in cash, at retirement. Certainly helps Leinster line up the financial ducks in a row to fund marquee signings like this!!! No other union anywhere in world rugby benefits from this kind of lucrative financial sponsorship from their government…
5 Go to commentsTrue Jordie could earn a lot more in Japan. But by choosing Leinster he’ll be playing with 1 of the best clubs in the world and can win a champions cup and URC…..
6 Go to commentsThanks for that Marshy, noticed you didn't say who is gonna win it. We know who ain't gonna win it - your Crusaders outfit. They've gone from having arguably the best Super Rugby first five ever, to having a clutch of rookies. Hurricanes all the way!
1 Go to commentsGeez you really have to question the NRLs ability to produce players of quality. Its pathetic. Dont the 25mil in Aus produce enough quality womens players. Sad.
1 Go to commentsBulls fan here, and agree 100% with the conclusion (and little else) of this article. SA sides should absolutely f-off from the champs cup until we get fair scheduling, equal support for travel arrangements and home semis. You know, like all the european teams get.
26 Go to commentsI’m yet to see why Grace would be an ABs contender. He’s pedestrian and lacks the dominance required of a top flight 8.
11 Go to commentsGee my Highlanders were terrible. They have gone backwards since the start of the season. The trouble began when we left Millar behind to prep as the 10 against the Brumbies and he was disconnected from the team that came back from Aussie. We rested Patchell for that game and we blew an avalanche of ball in good attacking positions in the 1st half. Against the Rebels we seem to of gone into a pod system with forwards hanging off from the breakdown leaving Fakatava to secure our ball!
80 Go to comments