Reds prop Taniela Tupou to face judiciary on foul play charge

REDS and Wallabies prop Taniela Tupou will appear at a SANZAAR judicial committee hearing after being cited for alleged foul play in the loss to the Stormers. Watch the incident here.

Taniela Tupou of the Reds in action at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.

REDS and Wallabies prop Taniela Tupou will appear at a SANZAAR judicial committee hearing later on Tuesday after being cited for alleged foul play.

Tupou is alleged to have contravened law 9.13 — that a player must not tackle an opponent early, late or dangerously — during the Super Rugby match between the Reds and Stormers in Cape Town last weekend.

The 21-year old Tongan born front rower appeared to execute a tackle on Stormers winger Craig Barry without using his arms in the ninth minute of the Reds loss.

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He wasn’t penalised at the time, but the citing commissioner later deemed the incident had met the red card threshold for foul play.

Tupou made his Test debut off the bench against Scotland in Australia’s most recent game last November.

He has been in good form early in the season, with Wallabies coach Michael Cheika on Monday naming Tupou as one the younger players taking a more prominent role in Super Rugby this season.

Queensland captain Scott Higginbotham and fellow Wallabies and Reds forward Lukhan Tui have already served three match suspensions this season.

Tupou’s hearing will be conducted by video conference, starting on Tuesday at 5pm AEDT.

Originally published as Reds prop Taniela Tupou to face judiciary on foul play charge