Legal brief arrives as Ireland plead mitigation for Bundee Aki

Bundee Aki will head into a disciplinary hearing in Tokyo today to decide his World Cup fate with the backing of old friends from the Samoa camp as Ireland hoped for clemency for their centre ahead of this weekend’s quarter-finals.

Aki’s fate is set to be decided today after Ireland’s inside centre was cited for his red card high tackle on Samoan fly-half Ulupano Seuteni in the bonus-point victory on Saturday that secured progress to the World Cup’s knockout stages.