Samoan speared out of WRWC
Samoan players' affinity for and predisposition to dangerous tackles came back to haunt their team in Round One of the Women's World Cup at French Rugby HQ in Marcoussis.
Samoan fullback Soteria Pulumu has been ruled out of the rest of the tournament for a spear tackle executed in the 3-65 loss to England at the weekend.
A statement by the organisers, the IRB, confirmed that Pulumu will take no further part in the event.
"Samoan fullback Soteria Pulumu appeared before judicial officer Jeremy Summers in Paris on August 2 [Saturday], having been cited for an act of Foul Play contrary to Law 10.4(j), namely lifting a player from the ground and dropping or driving that player (England scrum half Natasha Hunt) into the ground,"the IRB statement said.
"The player admitted the foul play.
"Having heard all the evidence, the judicial officer determined the players actions were reckless and warranted a mid-range sanction – which has an entry point of eight weeks. The sanction was aggravated by one week to take into account the need for a deterrent for so-called 'tip tackles'.
"The judicial officer took into account various mitigating factors including the players remorse, conduct at the hearing, early admission and her clean disciplinary record and reduced the sanction by four weeks to a final sanction of five weeks."
In the context of the tournament, this means the player will miss the remaining matches at the tournament and is further suspended from August 18 to midnight on August 24.
The player has the right to appeal.
