(Reuters) - All Blacks and Auckland loose forward Steve Luatua has been handed a four-week suspension for a high tackle on Tim Nanai-Williams that earned him a red card in the Blues' 41-26 Super Rugby defeat at the Waikato Chiefs on Friday. Luatua, who apologised to Nanai-Williams after the game, pleaded guilty to a dangerous tackle of an opponent after he hit the Chiefs winger with a late, swinging arm off the ball just before halftime in the Hamilton clash. A foul play review committee for competition governing body SANZAAR suspended Luatua from all forms of the game up to and including April 1. "The act of foul play merited a mid-range entry point of six weeks," the committee said in a statement. Luatua will leave the Blues at the end of the campaign to join English Premiership side Bristol for the 2017-18 season.

Source: The Star March 05, 2017 10:57 UTC