SYDNEY, March 20 (Reuters) – Queensland Reds and Australia
winger Digby Ioane has been slapped with a five-week ban for a
dangerous tackle in a Super Rugby match last weekend, governing
body SANZAR said on Tuesday.
The 26-year-old admitted he was guilty of lifting Sharks
loose forward Marcell Coetzee and failing to return him to the
ground safely in the Reds’ 27-22 defeat in Durban on Saturday.
Ioane was a key figure in Queensland’s run to their first
Super Rugby title last season, scoring five tries including in
the victory over the Crusaders in the final.
An uncompromising defender, he was one of Australia’s most
productive tacklers in their Tri-Nations triumph and run to the
semi-finals of the World Cup last year.
SANZAR judicial officer Mike Heron said previous
disciplinary matters relating to dangerous tackles in 2008 had
counted against the New Zealand-born back.
Spear or tip tackling, where a player lifts an opponent into
the air and returns them to the ground head first, is outlawed
because of the potential for head injuries.
Ioane will miss matches against the Bulls, Western Force,
ACT Brumbies and Stormers before being available again when the
Reds travel to Auckland to face the Blues on April 27.
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Patrick Johnston)
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