Blues captain Papalii banned for three weeks for Mo'unga hit

MELBOURNE : Auckland Blues captain Dalton Papalii has been banned for three weeks for his ugly, late tackle on Richie Mo'unga, ruling him out for the rest of the regular season of Super Rugby Pacific.

The loose forward planted his shoulder into Mo'unga's head early in the second half of the match against the Canterbury Crusaders on Saturday to earn a yellow card which was upgraded to red on review.

The competition's foul play review committee deemed the tackle reckless and dangerous, and worthy of a six-week suspension.

However, they cut the ban in half due to Papalii's good record and guilty plea.

Papalii's suspension is ill-timed for the Blues, whose 15-3 defeat to the Crusaders left them fifth on the table, three points behind the fourth-placed Cantabrians.

The top four teams at the end of the regular season earn the right to host the quarter-finals in the first round of the post-season playoffs.

Runnersup to the Crusaders last year, the Blues head to the Queensland Reds on Friday before finishing off the regular season against the Wellington Hurricanes and the Otago Highlanders at home.