Tonga's Moala set to miss Ireland clash after five-game ban

George Moala was in front of the Disciplinary Committee for the first time and had his ban reduced from a ten match to a five match ban.

FIVE MATCH BAN: Tongan centre George Moala receives a five match ban for his red card against Canada.

Thu, 17 Aug, 2023 - 17:52

Fiona Halligan

Tongan centre and former All Black George Moala has received a five-match ban after he was red carded for his tip tackle during the game against Canada last week. The independent judicial committee met on Monday.

Tonga face Ireland in their second World Cup game in Nantes on September 16 but look as if they wll be without one of their key assets.

Moala received the red car for an offence contrary to Law 9.18 'A player must not lift an opponent off the ground and drop or drive that player so that their head and/or upper body make contact to the ground'.

Moala, who was in front of the committee for the first time, accepted that foul play occurred and that a red card was warranted. The Committee considered Moala submissions and all other evidence and decided that the offence warranted a mid-range sanction – 10 matches. They considered mitigating factors and decided to reduce the sanction by the maximum mitigations of 50 per cent.