LAST UPDATE | 23 Mar 2021
CONNACHT’S BUNDEE AKI has been banned for four games following his red card for a high tackle in Ireland’s Six Nations win over England last weekend.
The Ireland centre was sent off for a high tackle on England number eight Billy Vunipola in the 64th minute of his team’s victory.
Aki faced an online disciplinary hearing today and has been suspended for four games by the independent disciplinary committee.
The 30-year-old will now miss Connacht’s round-of-16 Challenge Cup clash away to Leicester Tigers in two weekends’ time, as well as the province’s following three games either in Europe or the Rainbow Cup.
Aki accepted he had committed an act of foul play in tackling Vunipola but the committee “accepted Aki’s explanation of the incident and that his intention had been to perform a legitimate tackle,” according to a Six Nations statement.
The disciplinary committee considered that Aki had made contact with Vunipola “inches too high” and accepted that the tackle “had been reckless rather than deliberate or intentional.”
It was determined that Aki’s offence warranted a mid-range entry point of six weeks, but the sanction was reduced by two weeks on account of Aki accepting he had committed foul play, his remorse, and his good conduct before and during the hearing.
Aki’s previous disciplinary record – which includes a red card for a high tackle at the 2019 World Cup – meant that the committee did not allow the maximum 50% possible reduction in his suspension.
The Committee “determined that the suspension should cover Mr Aki’s next four matches for Connacht in competitions organised by EPCR or Pro Rugby Championship (eg the Guinness PRO14 or the Rainbow Cup).”
Roger Morris [Wales], Frank Hadden [Scotland], and Stefan Terblanche [South Africa] made up the disciplinary committed and they heard evidence and submissions from Aki, Ireland head coach Andy Farrell, and Aki’s legal counsel, Derek Hegarty, as well as from Six Nations’ legal representative.
Aki has the right to appeal the suspension.
And that cl*wn Genge isn’t even looked at. Makes sense.
@Tom: classic whataboutery
@TheHospitalPass: in fairness, Genge could be heard on the refs mic admitting to elbowing Sexton in the head. If vunipola hadn’t dropped his head going into contact with Aki, it wouldn’t have even been a penalty. It’s poor officiating.
@Tom: At least Aki was playing rugby Genge wasn’t!
@TheHospitalPass: that phrase is used incorrectly.
@TheHospitalPass: Fair play is fair play , and the incident should be looked at in fairness .
Nothing to do with Whataboutery .if you don’t understand that you are approving the cynical fouling that referees have been warned to watch out for .
@Tom: if you watch that phase again you’ll also see that in the lead up to it, the English replacement second row reaches out and grabs Kellegher into a head lock preventing him from defending which makes this even more maddening!
@Tom: Bundee knocked him out ,could have broken his jaw Johnny got a rub of his arm no force, I fail to see the comparison. Its a massive man hitting you on the chin ,the Forse is like a car knocking you over a 40 klm
@rugbyanbeer: I totally accept what you’re saying. When put like that, there is no comparison. I think intent is an incredibly important thing to consider in these things too. I think they should look at Genge being a total d*ckh*ad.
@Tom: agree Genge is a thug
@rugbyanbeer: the Genge thing is probably being viewed in the same way Stander hitting Farrell with an open hand last year was I’d imagine.
@rugbyanbeer: except in this case the car is BV he’s bringing the force (far too star wars for my liking) not Aki.
No Consistancy! Last night in Scarlets v Connacht game the scarlets prop caught John Porch in neck with elbow but the Welsh ref and tmo did all in power to keep him on pitch. If Bundees tackle was a red then last night’s was a red. Time for the law makers to look again!
Disgraceful he should appeal that. He shouldn’t have got sent off let alone banned.
@Ciaran Burke: He inflicted brain damage, ko ed him.Its necessary for the safety of players ,and for the future of the game.You have to be Draconian so the Moms and Dads see Rugby as a safe sport for their kids to play.High hits gave to disappear like spear tackles have.
Ridic*lous, legitimate attempt to tackle Billy, he was stooping into the tackle. He was marginally high and just about caught him in the jaw!
@Darren Mullins: it’s where you hit your opponent nothing else matters whether you’re stooping or the opponent is stooping or the opponent is shorter than you or you didn’t mean it etc etc. None of that matters! Bundee should know that by now. It’s not his first rodeo!
@Sean: I think Darren is referring to the 4 game ban, rather than the red card. Those factors Darren mentioned were not even taken into account by the disciplinary committee.
Very harsh on Aki…
It’s a longer 4 week ban because of his disciplinary history, not sure how Genge hasn’t got his time …
Extremely harsh. Absolutely zero intent to injure in the tackle. Who does the panel consist of?
@Sean Healy: eh… might be better if you read the article first , rather than just the comments. All are named…
Time to either lower the tackle area completely or review the gravity of the law! The John Porch incident in the Connacht match last night was worse and the guy only got a yellow! If it was in the street the guy gets arrested for assault!
@Julian: what are they going to do when players are being knocked out with knees to the head by the ball carrier. I’ve a problem with the severity of the bans being given for accidentally possibly being slightly high
@Barry Newell: there’s still a place for tackling a lad correctly around the ankles. Will Connor has proven that!!
@Julian: for four years BV has been throwing irish lads outta the way. Tackling him at the ankles rarely works with him given his off loading ability.
I suppose he should’ve just elbowed him repeatedly in the face so? Or some would even have Him just let vunipola run right past him instead of tackling
Why is the Suspension not Restricted to International Games So Connhght Suffer For A player representing his Country
Horseshit
Appeal – it should be halved
Here’s a question for ye….what’s to stop a player from actively looking for penalties or opposition players to be yellow or red carded by carrying into a tackle and then suddenly stooping such that the tackle is high. It would be reckless on the part of the ball carrier but in some games it might be worth it!!!!
@Aidan Farrell:maybe the first part of safety should be to stop players running with their head down into tackles. Owen farrell ran head first recklessly into henderson so he should be cited for self injury
@Barry Newell: totally agree. It’s got to work both ways. If a tackler is committed to carrying out a legit tackle and the ball carrier drops in the last metre or two, the tackler will always be penalised. I don’t believe refs ever take that into consideration other than maybe saying it was a mitigating factor in awarding a yellow or red
Flipping madness.
No sense. No consistency.
Can’t have expected any better to be honest.
@Jim Demps: not sure I agree …by the letter of the law ..its a red and fair enough that players / coaches will need to modify their tackle approach. That said, a 4 game ban on top of the red he received seems very harsh to me and is further undermined by the inconsistency of application by refs
@Jim Demps: You’re right Jim, he’s Kiwi project player who plays for Connacht, he need not have bothered attending. However, if your POM, the captain of Munster and commit a much more reckless offence (for the second time in 3 months), you just need to give a nod and a wink and you can get your ban reduced in half.
@Jim Demps: 100% Jim, the key word is reckless, and that’s what has probably saved him from a longer ban. People need to put aside patriotism for acknowledgement of a player who has accepted his red for what it was. Two high profile red cards for the same foul may have warranted a longer ban. It can take a long time for players of any age or level to adjust in the heat of battle.
Longer than he deserved IMO. Pity as fancy Connacht to get pst Leicester .
Could create a bit of a siege mentality though and let’s do it for Bundee attitude.
It seems harsh after looking at the tackle again. Vunipola is nearly doubled over as he runs into Aki, who needed to be lying down to tackle Billy’s legs, getting run over in the process. He has to attempt a tackle.
4 game ban is a bit heavy.
If Bundee dropped down lower, Vunipola quite possibly catches him in the head and knocks him out. Kinda like what happened Farrell against Henderson
This is totally fair enough, he needs to change his tackle. It’s not safe. This is about making the game better and safer for all.
Talk about other incidents is just whatabboutery.
Awesome player
I notice that they mention the games have to be EPRC or Pro Rugby sanctioned, to prevent Connacht doing a Cardiff (Blues), and arranging an ‘A’ game or two to use up the suspension.
@Kingshu: some countries on the governing body seem to have a problem with Ireland…
Complete inconsistency, very poor from the officials.
Probably one of the Most inconsistent part of the Game.
For some Reason French Officials have no control on games and After for that matter..
TMO job is to spot these issues the Referee can’t see everything again Inconsistent And Determination committee who oversee citation are ….no Comment
Disgraceful punishment, these cl0wns will ruin this game.. far from a four week ban offence
World Rugby wanted a running rugby game like Rugby League. They did this repeatedly by trialing new laws in the Southern Hemisphere 6 months before the NH learned the new law dynamics, often resulting in a NH loss. The physical hits suited the Southern Hemisphere players abrasive approach for years. They changed the forwards into backs by scapegoating the scrum, lowering their scrummaging skills and upping their running and handling. Now they find that the tackle is the main cause of any injuries (not just head) and they are trying to scapegoat that as well.
Its a mess World Rugby have caused.
On a serious note, are we hearing anything from NZ Samoa Fiji Papua New Guinea about head injuries from tackles?
Irish players shouldn’t get red cards but players from other countries should. That’s the only consistency journal posters are worried about
@Virgil: Must Try harder
At what point is the law that the attackers/jacklers shoulders have to be above their hips going to be enforced? The tackers have (for the most part) taken the guidelines on board. There surely has to be a point where both parties have to do their utmost to avoid a head contact?