Australia centre Hunter Paisami will miss his side's Bledisloe Cup showdown with New Zealand after being handed a four-match ban following Australia's 42-38 win over South Africa in Perth.
The 28-year-old was shown a yellow card for a dangerous tackle on Springboks fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu in the latter stages of the Test. The Wallabies finished the contest with just 11 players on the field, with Paisami one of four players sent to the sin-bin in the final 10 minutes as Tom Wright's try was disallowed.
Ban reduced after admission
Paisami had hoped to avoid a ban at the first hearing into the incident but later admitted that he had committed an act of foul play. The six-week suspension was downgraded to four weeks after the committee took into account his remorse and disciplinary record.
Wallabies coach Les Kiss suggested the punishment was harsh, saying: "I'll be careful what I say. I thought it could have been a little bit less than that for sure."
Squad reshuffle
With Paisami ruled out, full-back Jock Campbell has been brought into the Australia squad ahead of the Bledisloe Cup series.
A SANZAAR statement read: "The Disciplinary Committee has found Australian midfielder Hunter Paisami guilty of dangerous play for a contrary tackle, in breach of Law 9.13. Paisami was shown a yellow card for the dangerous play in the 76th minute and cited following the international match between Australia and South Africa at Optus Stadium, Perth."
The statement continued: "The Committee determined that the act of foul play merited a mid-range entry point of six weeks/matches. In light of Paisami accepting that he committed an act of foul play, as well as mitigating factors such as his recent disciplinary record, conduct, and remorse, the Committee applied a 2 week/match reduction on the sanction. Paisami has been suspended from all forms of the game for four weeks."
