MELBOURNE (Reuters) – The Queensland Reds will be without scrumhalf Tate McDermott and loose forward Fraser McReight for key matches against New Zealand sides in Super Rugby Pacific after the Wallabies duo were given three-week bans for red cards.
McDermott was given a yellow card, later upgraded to red, for striking Irie Papuni with a swinging arm in a tackle during the 17-14 loss to Moana Pasifika in Whangarei last Friday.
McReight was also upgraded to a red card for a high tackle on Moana’s William Havili as the Reds slumped to their third successive loss.
McReight can reduce his ban by a week if he participates in World Rugby’s “coaching intervention” process for high tackles.
The bans could not come at a worse time for Les Kiss’s sixth-placed Reds (3-4), who host the Otago Highlanders on Friday followed by the Auckland Blues and an away match against the Canterbury Crusaders in successive weeks.
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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