U20s duo suspended for final Oceania round

Thu, May 3, 2018, 7:27 AM
Beth Newman
by Beth Newman
Two players will miss the final round of the Oceania U20s on Saturday night. Photo; Sportography
Two players will miss the final round of the Oceania U20s on Saturday night. Photo; Sportography

New Zealand centre Billy Proctor will miss the deciding Oceania U20s clash with Australia, suspended for a high tackle.

Proctor was sent off in New Zealand's 55-15 win over Fiji in just the 18th minute, for a lifting tackle on an opponent.

The midfielder pleaded guilty to the charge and was suspended for two weeks over the incident.

Proctor will miss the Kiwis' final Oceania match, that will decide the title winner, and a club match a week later, as part of his suspension.


Meanwhile, Tonga's Sefa Finua will also miss two matches, after being involved in 'physical abuse' against the Junior Wallabies.

Finua was red-carded in the 75th minute of the match, with the assistant referee confident he had seen the centre connect with a punch in a ruck 

The Tongan youngster denied he had punched anyone, but admitted to being involved in a high tackle, and was suspended for two matches for breaking law 9.12: "A player must not physically or verbally abuse anyone. Physical abuse includes, but is not limited to, biting, punching, contact with the eye or eye area, striking with any part of the arm (including stiff-arm tackles), shoulder, head or knee(s), stamping, trampling, tripping or kicking".

Finua will miss Tonga's match with Fiji and a club match in a fortnight's time.

The final round of the Oceania U20s kicks off on Saturday night, with Fiji vs Tonga at 5pm AEST and Australia vs New Zealand at 7pm AEST, both LIVE on RUGBY.com.au.

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