Wallabies centre Samu Kerevi has had his red card upheld and will miss the rest of the Wallabies’ Autumn Series.
Kerevi was yellow carded and placed on review early in the second half of the 52-20 win over Wales on Monday AEDT and the card was upgraded to a red.
Kerevi’s evening came unstuck in the 42nd minute as he lined up Morgan after a lineout.
Although Kerevi was bent at the knees, the Japan-based midfielder, who was playing just his second match in six months, drove up and made contact with the head.
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt said he was “pretty disappointed with that decision around Samu, and we’ll have a look at that.”
It is understood the Wallabies did not fight the charge because of the time it would take to resolve the issue via an appeal.
He was banned for six games but has had the sentence reduced to three due to his decision to accept wrong doing, and his previous good record. That will include the match against Scotland and two club trials for D-Rocks on December 1 and 7.
(Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
Schmidt said after the game: “He’s [Kerevi] pretty distraught. Fiftieth game for the Wallabies and getting that red card. He was trying to drop into the tackle, and I felt Max [Jac Morgan] just dropped as well.
“We were surprised that there was no mitigation, particularly because Jac played on, and there was no ping on his mouthguard, so it was then described as high danger. But that’s just the world we live in now, and we will look at that closely and potentially ask some questions through the right channels.”
Kerevi’s loss should see Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii restored to the centres for the match alongside Len Ikitau. It could also mean a debut for Harry Potter, while Hamish Stewart was one of four players called into the squad from the Australia XV.
In a statement the Autumn Nations organisers said:
“Australia number 12, Samu Kerevi, appeared before an independent Disciplinary Committee yesterday evening via video link having received a 20-minute red card for an act of foul play contrary to Law 9.13 in the match between Australia and Wales on Sunday 17th November 2024.
“The independent Disciplinary Committee was chaired by Brenda Heather-Latu (Samoa), joined by former international referee Donal Courtney (Ireland) and former international player Becky Essex (England).
“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.
“In light of the player accepting he committed an act of foul play as well as other mitigating factors such as his clean disciplinary record, his remorse and good conduct, they have applied the full 50% reduction in sanction, thus reducing the final sanction to three weeks/matches.
“The player has additionally been given permission to apply to take part in World Rugby’s Coaching Intervention Programme to substitute the final match of their sanction which is aimed at modifying specific techniques and technical issues that contributed to the foul play.”