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April 9, 2010

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Chiefs' Lauaki escapes further ban

WAIKATO Chiefs No. 8 Sione Lauaki has been sanctioned by the New Zealand Rugby Union for serious misconduct after a late-night altercation at a bar in Hamilton last month, but will be able to play on.

The former All Black was remanded on bail by a court in Hamilton after pleading guilty to a charge of common assault and is expected to be sentenced next month.

The 28-year-old had fronted a NZRU disciplinary meeting over the incident and was given a "full and final warning, a substantial fine and one week suspension, already served," the NZRU's Neil Sorensen said in a statement yesterday.

"We take these matters extremely seriously but in this case there were a number of mitigating circumstances and we are comfortable that the incident itself was at the lower end of the scale," Sorensen added.

"However, Sione has a history of similar conduct and we have imposed a sanction which reflects that we have treated this matter seriously."

Tonga-born Lauaki, who played 17 tests for New Zealand from 2005-2008, was dropped by the Chiefs last month in the wake of the assault charge, but was subsequently restored to the team and named as captain to play the ACT Brumbies a day after pleading guilty.

The court appearance was Lauaki's second within a year.

(Reuters)


 

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