Connacht back rower cops five week ban

Connacht will be without their new signing Abraham Papali’i for the next five weeks as the player has been suspended following his sending off against Zebre. 

He was shown a straight red for a high tackle on Zebre's Tammaso Boni. The back rower as been banned for five weeks after a Disciplinary process took place on Thursday, November 26resulting from the red card he received during Round 7 of the Guinness PRO14.

The Player was shown a red card during Connacht’s game with Zebre Rugby Club on Sunday, November 22 at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi in Parma by referee Dan Jones (WRU) under Law 9.13 – A player must not tackle an opponent early, late or dangerously. Dangerous tackling includes, but is not limited to, tackling or attempting to tackle an opponent above the line of the shoulders even if the tackle starts below the line of the shoulders.

The Player faced a Disciplinary panel consisting Charles Cuthbert (Chair), Nigel Williams and Declan Goodwin (all Wales). The Panel concluded that the incident warranted a red card and was deemed a mid-range offence, which carries a six-week suspension.

The Player’s co-operation throughout the process and remorse shown warranted a one-week reduction of the suspension, bringing his ban to five weeks. The Player will be free to play from midnight on Monday, December 28 2020.

This is second red card Papali’i has received since joining Connacht as he was dismissed 26 minutes into his debut for the Province against in August for another high tackle on Conor Murray.