Lood de Jager banned for four matches after red card

South Africa lock Lood de Jager will miss the remainder of his team's Quilter Nations Series clashes after receiving a red card in their 32-17 win over France at the Stade de France last weekend.

The dismissal came when he made shoulder-to-head contact with French full-back Thomas Ramos shortly before half-time.

An independent disciplinary panel upheld the red card and handed de Jager a four-match suspension.

The ban was reduced from an initial six-match entry point by two matches after mitigating factors were considered.

"The disciplinary committee has upheld the red card issued to the player and, by applying World Rugby’s sanctioning provisions, have determined that the mid-range entry point of six weeks/matches was appropriate," read a statement from the independent disciplinary panel that comprised of chair Jennifer Donovan (Ireland), joined by former referees Val Toma (Romania) and Donal Courtney (Ireland).

"Mitigating factors were applied by the committee, reducing the six-week entry point by two weeks, thus reducing the final sanction to four weeks/matches".

He will now sit out Tests against Italy, Ireland and Wales, as well as a club fixture in Japan Rugby League One fixture. He may still apply to participate in a coaching intervention programme, which could further reduce the final match of his ban by a game.