Suspensions see Puma stars bow out in shame

ARGENTINA’S disappointing World Cup campaign came to a sorry and disgraceful conclusion as two of their senior players were banned for serious assaults on Irish opponents during Sunday’s clash at the Adelaide Oval.

Veteran props Roberto Grau and Mariccio Reggiardo received a 15-week suspension between them for incidents involving Keith Wood and Reggie Corrigan during the 16-15 defeat which sent the Pumas tumbling out of the competition.

With Scotland flanker Martin Leslie having his 12-week ban reduced by a third on appeal, the nine-week punishment handed down to former Saracens front-row Grau becomes an unwanted World Cup record. Grau, who has returned to his homeland to take up a contract with Liceo de Mendoza, was caught on camera appearing to gouge Wood, an allegation which, if proved, carried a maximum three-year suspension from the game. After a seven-hour hearing in central Sydney, 33-year-old Grau was found guilty of ‘raking his hand over the face of an opposition player’. It will prevent Grau from playing until December 31, while Reggiardo, also 33, will not be able to appear for Castres until December 10.

RWC judicial officer Bruce Squire confirmed Reggiardo’s attack on Corrigan was ‘reckless rather than deliberate but carried a significant and unacceptable risk of injury’.