Quartet banned, Louw free to play

Chris Hala’Ufia has been banned for five weeks after appearing at a discipline hearing in Bristol yesterday.
The London Irish No.8 was found guilty of a tip tackle on London Welsh Seb Jewell in the battle of the Exiles on Saturday.
He was sent off in the tenth minute of the game and pleaded not guilty to the offence. As a result, he will not play again until January 7 next year and was also ordered to pay £500 towards the hearing cost.
It was a busy night for disciplinary officers as no less than four other players appeared before the commission, all from the same game.
The game between Leicester and Bath at Welford Road saw three red cards and one citing after the game.
Bath duo Matt Banahan and Francois Louw and Leicester flanker Brett Deacon all saw red while former England hooker Lee Mears was cited after the game by the citing officer.
Banahan was red carded following a high tackle on Anthony Allen which left the England centre knocked out.
He pleaded guilty to the offence and was banned for three weeks along with a £500 fine. He will be free to play again on December 24.
Leicester flanker Deacon reacted to the high tackle by punching Banahan in the face and was also sent off as a result.
He also pleaded guilty to the offence and ordered to pay a £500 fine but was only banned for a week. He will be free to play again on December 10.
Hooker Mears received a two weeks ban for punching or striking an opponent and was also ordered to pay a £500 fine. He will be able to play again on December 17.
Springbok Louw will however be free to play again this week after his case was dismissed. He had been sent off for dropping an elbow in Geordan Murphy’s face during the game.