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Tolu Latu suspended six weeks after Sunwolves citation

25th February, 2019
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25th February, 2019
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The Waratahs have had a serious spanner thrown in the works after first-choice hooker Tolu Latu was handed a hefty six-week suspension for an incident in last week’s one-point win over the Sunwolves.

According to AAP, Latu pled guilty to SANZAAR’s foul play review committee and was handed the ban for his conduct.

While Latu was not cited by the referee during the match, the citing commissioner decided to charge Latu for dangerous play after reviewing the match and deeming his conduct had “met the red card threshold”.

The 25-year-old was cited for charging into a maul. Although the broadcast angle makes it hard to see, his conduct appeared to injure the knee of Ed Quirk, who subsequently required carting off the field.

His lengthy absence will be a cruel blow to the side, who are already battling personnel issues on the front row.

AAP reported that the committee judged the incident to be a top-end offence, meaning Latu could have been suspended for ten weeks. The suspension was reduced to six weeks due to the time since Latu’s last offence, genuine remorse and his early guilty plea.

The statement from committee chairman Adam Casselden reads as follows.

“With respect to sanction, the Foul Play Review Committee deemed the act of foul play merited a top-end entry point of 10 weeks due to the vulnerability of the victim, the gravity of the offence and the extent of the injury caused to the victim.

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“However, taking into account mitigating factors including Player’s expressed remorse, the fact his most recent Judicial offence was three years ago and the player’s guilty plea at the first available opportunity, the Foul Play Review Committee reduced the suspension to six weeks.”

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