An appeal by Samoan hooker Motu Matu'u against his three match ban for a dangerous tackle has been been dismissed.
The 32 year-old was cited for a dangerous high tackle in Samoa's Rugby World Cup opener against Russia last week.
Samoa's Motu Matu'u (R) failed a concussion test after being yellow carded. Photo: AFP
He was yellow carded on the field and subsequently suspended for three matches by an independent judicial committee, which ruled that because he was concussed in the incident Samoa's second pool match against Scotland did not count towards the ban.
The appeal committee dismissed his appeal on Tuesday, ruling that the judicial committee was entitled on the evidence to rule that the incident met the threshold for a red card offence.
Motu Matu'u. Photo: AFP
The committee found the Scotland test was correctly excluded from the three-game sanction because Matu'u was unavailable for the game because of injury.
The London Irish front-rower will miss Samoa's remaining World Cup pool games against Japan and Ireland but if the Manu do not qualify for the quarter-finals the suspension will carry forward to his next scheduled match in the English Premiership.