Wallabies lock Darcy Swain has been suspended for six weeks for the dangerous dive he committed on Quinn Tupaea.
Swain was cited for the cleanout from the 35th minute of last week's controversial 39-37 All Blacks win in Melbourne and attended a hearing last night with the SANZAAR judiciary to discuss it.
The committee of Andre Oosthuizen SC [Chair], De Wet Barry and José Luis Rolandi alleged the second rower contravened Law 9.11, which states players must not do anything that is reckless and dangerous to others.
READ MORE: Wallabies 'thug' slammed for 'grotesque' act on All Black Tupaea
Referee Mathieu Raynal, who initially missed the incident until it was brought to his attention by TMO Ben Whitehouse, believed Swain had broken that rule and handed him a yellow card for it in the match but the judiciary believed it should have been red, saying it met the threshold.
It said the incident "was not intentional, however it was highly reckless".
The All Blacks confirmed earlier this week Tupaea suffered a ruptured MCL and partially torn ACL in the match which will sideline him for at least three months - a timeline which has left his All Blacks teammates fired up ahead of Saturday's rematch in Auckland.
The injured midfielder partially ruptured his ACL after Darcy Swain took him out at a ruck. (Source: 1News)
Swain's suspension means he won't play a role in that Eden Park Test but Rugby Australia have already taken small measures to ensure his time out from the Wallabies is as minimal as possible.
READ MORE: Wallabies standing by 'devastated' Swain after Tupaea injury
Yesterday Rugby Australia named Swain in their "Australia A" team for their upcoming tour of Japan next month.
The development side will play three matches against a Japan XV in October, effectively reducing Swain's suspension by three games before the Wallabies' end-of-year tour which will see them play five Tests in the Northern Hemisphere against every Six Nations team except England.
Swain copped a red card in the Wallabies' first Test of 2022 when he headbutted England's Jonny Hill deliberately after a scrappy altercation at a maul.
Hill was yellow-carded for pulling Swain's hair prior to the headbutt.
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