Argentina lock Tomas Lavanini handed four-game suspension

Argentina will miss the service of Tomas Lavanini in their final game of the World Cup against the United States after the Pumas second-row was handed a four-game suspension following his red-card incident during the recently concluded game against England.

The 26-year-old was sent-off in the 18th minute when his shoulder jammed into the jaw of England skipper Owen Farrell and it proved costly for Argentina as they succumbed to a 10-39 defeat after having a deficit of just two points before the incident.

The news was confirmed by a statement released from World Rugby.

“Lavanini attended a disciplinary hearing in Tokyo on 7 October before an independent judicial panel chaired by Adam Casselden SC (Australia) with former international coach Frank Hadden (Scotland) and former international referee Donal Courtney (Ireland).

“Lavanini admitted the act of foul play and accepted that it warranted a red card. He accepted that given his previous disciplinary record he was not entitled to the full 50 per cent discount from the six-game entry point.

“Having considered all the evidence and after hearing from the player and his legal representative, the panel imposed a sanction of four matches."

With Argentina already out of the quarter-finals race, Lavanini will miss the final game against the USA and the first three games of the 2019/20 season for his new club Leicester Tigers. He would be free to resume playing from 1st November.