Tonga No 8 Vaea Fifita's dangerous clear out of Scotland's Finn Russell won't just end his Rugby World Cup and a chance to play the Springboks on Saturday — he will also miss United Rugby Championship clashes against the Bulls and the Stormers.
Fifita, who received a red card via the bunker review system in last Sunday's 45-17 defeat to Scotland in Nice, attended an independent disciplinary committee hearing for dangerously charging into a ruck or maul. The player accepted he had committed an act of foul play but challenged that it warranted a red card and was suspended for four matches.
The independent committee determined it was a reckless act of foul play; that head contact occurred; that there was a high degree of danger; the action was always illegal and therefore mitigation was not available.
A statement on the finding read: “On that basis and in considering the sanction, the independent committee applied World Rugby’s mandatory minimum mid-range entry point for foul play resulting in head contact [six matches].
"Taking all considerations into account, including the player’s remorse and previous disciplinary record, the independent committee determined mitigation of two matches was appropriate, resulting in a final sanction of four matches.”
It means Fifita will miss Tonga's game against South Africa on Sunday, their game against Romania on October 8, the Scarlets' clash against the Bulls on October 22 and their match against the Stormers on October 28.
Fifita, who made 11 appearances for the All Blacks, will be sorely missed by Tonga. He is a formidable ball carrier and he packs a punch in defence.
His late banishment on Sunday did not influence the result. Tonga though were still in the game by the 53rd minute but defensive lapses cost them. Their challenge petered out towards the end but not before they posed uncomfortable questions of the Scotland scrum.
It was a point Bok scrum coach Daan Human was keen to highlight as he talked up the challenge awaiting the Springboks on Sunday. In fact, Tonga's scrum rate success was slightly higher than that of Scotland. At 151kg captain Ben Tameifuna is a near immovable object and he is a heavy hitter, as he proved against Scotland when the tryline beckons.
As much as Tonga's scrum is an ally, they lack consistency in the line-out. They had a meagre 57% return on their own feeds.
While they make their tackles count when they get hold of the ball carrier, too many evade Tonga's grasp. They missed 48 tackles against Scotland.
The Boks will be salivating at the prospect of running at Tonga's defence, but some will lick their wounds afterwards.
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