Wallabies lock Darcy Swain was handed a mid-range suspension for a dangerous cleanout which resulted in All Blacks centre Quinn Tupaea suffering a long-term knee injury.

Swain was yellow-carded for the incident, which took place towards the end of the first half of the Test between Australia and New Zealand in Melbourne.

The lock entered a ruck recklessly, targeting Tupaea’s left leg which resulted in the centre tearing multiple ligaments in his knee and ruling him out for the rest of the year.

Swain was subsequently cited under “Law 9.11: Players must not do anything that is reckless or dangerous to others”.

The judicial committee hearing held via video conference on Wednesday was heard by chair Andre Oosthuizen SC, and members De Wet Barry and José Luis Rolandi.
 
In its findings, the committee ruled the following: 
 
“Having conducted a detailed review of all the available evidence, having heard from the player and from his legal representative, Aaron Lloyd, the Judicial Committee upheld the Citing and deemed the incident meet the red card threshold for Law 9.11. 
 
“With respect to sanction the Judicial Committee deemed the act of foul play merited a mid-range entry point of six (6) weeks. Through the actions by the player such as position, control, and player movements they found the incident was not intentional, however, it was highly reckless.”

Swain is ruled out until 6 November and will thus be available for selection again during the Wallabies tour of Europe in November.

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