Jona Nareki gets two-week Super Rugby ban

Highlanders outside back Jona Nareki has been suspended for two weeks after being found guilty of a dangerous tackle during the Super Rugby Pacific match against the NSW Waratahs in Dunedin.

Jona Nareki Dangerous Tackle Ban

The Super Rugby Pacific Foul Play Review Committee found Nareki guilty of dangerous play under Law 9.13. The incident occurred in the 59th minute of last Saturday’s match between the Highlanders and Waratahs at Forsyth Barr Stadium.

Nareki received a red card for the tackle during the match, which the Highlanders went on to win 31-26 after surviving a late Waratahs fightback.

FPRC Reduces Six-Week Entry Point

The committee initially placed the offence at a mid-range entry point of six weeks. However, Nareki accepted the foul play charge and received mitigation for his disciplinary record and remorse.

The FPRC applied the full 50 per cent reduction, bringing the sanction down to three weeks. It then ruled that a three-week ban would be disproportionate to the player’s fault and the consequences, reducing the final suspension to two weeks.

Highlanders To Miss Nareki For Two Matches

Nareki will miss the Highlanders’ upcoming Super Rugby Pacific matches against the Chiefs on May 15 and the Hurricanes on May 23.

He has also been given permission to apply for World Rugby’s Coaching Intervention Programme, which could substitute the final match of his suspension.

Separately, Crusaders winger Kurtis MacDonald will face a Super Rugby Pacific Judicial Committee hearing after being red-carded for dangerous play under Law 9.17 during the Crusaders’ match against the Blues in Christchurch.