France's Peato Mauvaka banned for three matches

France hooker Peato Mauvaka has been handed a three-game suspension following his dangerous tackle on Scotland’s Ben White during last Saturday’s Six Nations match in Paris.

Mauvaka was initially shown a yellow card in the first half of France’s 35-16 victory after making head-to-head contact with White. Despite being sent to the sin bin for ten minutes, he was allowed to return to the field after a bunker review deemed the contact non-dangerous.

However, the incident was later cited under Law 9.12, which prohibits striking with any part of the arm, shoulder, head, or knee.

Mauvaka appeared before an independent Disciplinary Committee via video link, where the citing was upheld.

The committee, chaired by Jennifer Donovan (Ireland) and including former international players John Langford (Australia) and Leon Lloyd (England), determined that a low-range entry point of six matches was the appropriate starting point for the sanction.

However, due to mitigating factors—including Mauvaka’s admission of foul play, his remorse, good conduct during the hearing, and his previously clean disciplinary record—the committee applied the full 50% reduction. This brought the final suspension down to three matches.

As a result of the ruling, Mauvaka will be unavailable for Toulouse’s upcoming Top 14 fixtures against Bordeaux Bègles on March 23 and Pau on March 29. Additionally, he will miss Toulouse’s Champions Cup round-of-16 encounter with Sale Sharks on April 6.