Taniela Tupou’s frustrating season could take a turn for the worse after he was cited for his brutal hit on Wallabies teammate Darcy Swain in their loss to the Brumbies.
Tupou came flying into the ruck in the 65th minute with the Brumbies defending their try line.
Referee Angus Gardner was preoccupied with the Brumbies defence at the time and blew up for a penalty against the Canberra team as Tupou hit Swain.
Tupou stood over Swain after the hit and was talking to his floored national teammate.
The Stan commentators called out the incident – Justin Harrison called it “dangerous” – but the TMO didn’t intervene.
On Monday SANZAAR said in a statement:
“Taniela Tupou of the Rebels has been cited for alleged foul play during a Super Rugby Pacific match at the weekend.
“Tupou is alleged to have contravened Law 9.20: Dangerous play in a ruck or maul, during the match between the Brumbies and Rebels at GIO Stadium in Canberra on 24 May 2024.
“Upon further review of the match footage, the Citing Commissioner deemed in his opinion the incident had met the Red Card threshold for foul play.”
The Rebels travel to Fiji this week with the ability to finish as high as sixth and as low as eighth ahead of the finals.
There was a lot of feeling in the match, won easily by the Brumbies despite their own discipline issues.
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