Australia: Samu Kerevi banned opening the door for Joseph Suaalii’s return
Wallabies star Joseph Suaalii and an insert of Samu Kerevi.
Joseph Suaalii is primed to return to Joe Schmidt’s starting lineup for the Wallabies’ final two tour matches against Scotland and Ireland following the suspension of veteran midfielder Samu Kerevi.
Suaalii starred on debut against England after surprisingly being named at outside centre in what was his first game of professional rugby union since making the switch from league.
Despite putting in a man-of-the-match performance in Australia’s victory over England at Twickenham, Suaalii was moved to the bench for the clash against Wales, with Kerevi coming into the starting XV.
The 31-year-old earned his 50th Test cap against Wales but his game was cut short when he hammered into flanker Jac Morgan, making head-on-head contact with the back-rower.
He was promptly yellow carded with the incident sent to be reviewed by the foul play review officer, who upgraded the tackle to a 20-minute red card.
Samu Kerevi banned
Kerevi has since appeared before an independent Disciplinary Committee, who has upheld his red card and handed him a three-game suspension, meaning that he will miss the Wallabies’ last two November international matches.
“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 statement confirming his suspension read.
🟨 Kerevi sees yellow!
📺 An off-field review for the high shot from the Aussie centre!#AutumnNationsSeries | #WALvAUS pic.twitter.com/7dcwlTmfQ5
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) November 17, 2024
Kerevi will also be able to take part in World Rugby’s Coaching Intervention Programme – aka tackle school – which will allow him to reduce his suspension for another week, meaning that he is unlikely to miss any matches for his Japanese club the Urayasu D-Rocks.
Head coach Schmidt will now be forced to make a change to his midfield for the clash against Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday which could very well lead to Len Ikitau and Suaalii linking up once again.
Schmidt could also turn to Josh Flook or Hamish Stewart who have both joined the Wallabies squad during the tour after initially missing out on selection. Flook linked up with the team after Hunter Paisami’s withdrawal while Stewart was called up in anticipation of Kerevi’s suspension.
Australia are chasing a first Northern Hemisphere Grand Slam since 1984 after beating England and Wales in their first two matches with Scotland and Ireland up next as they close out 2024.
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