All Blacks prop Ofa Tuungafasi has been banned for three weeks following his red card in last weekend's defeat to Australia in Brisbane.
A Sanzaar judicial hearing found Tuungafasi guilty of contravening Law 9.13, which states "A player must not tackle an opponent early, late or dangerously", after Tuungafasi madehigh contact with Wallabies winger Tom Wright in the first half of the Bledisloe Cup finale on Saturday.
He will miss the All Blacks' final two Tri Nations games against Argentina, and a pre-season game for the Blues.
Ofa Tuungafasi. Photo / Photosport
The judicial committee deemed Tuungafasi's high tackle merited a mid-range entry point of a six-week ban, due to the act being deemed to be foul play involving contact with the head.
However, Tuungafasi's early guilty plea and clean judicial record saw his ban reduced by 50 per cent.
The prop was one of two players to be sent off in the test, alongside Lachlan Swinton. The Wallabies loose forward was suspended for an extra week due to two prior offences on his record.
Scott Barrett and Marika Koroibete also spent time in the bin during the contest.
Tuungafasi's suspension ends before the Blues' Super Rugby Aotearoa opener against Hurricanes on February 27.
"It is what it is," said All Blacks coach Ian Foster.
"You go into the process and we felt it was worthy of a conversation. We were listened to and presented our case and fully respect the decision. While we're really disappointed for Ofa we're fully aware of the process, fully aware of the high tackle framework and [we'll]move on," he added.
