Following the 2011 NZI Sevens at the Westpac Stadium this evening, Samoa number 7 Lolo Lui was summoned to appear before a judicial hearing.
This followed his citing for kicking an England player John Brake in the Cup semi-final on Day Two of the NZI Sevens in Wellington.
Video footage showed the player chase the ball before deviating towards an English player who was prone and kicking him in the head.
Samoa’s Lolo Lui with New Zealand’s DJ Forbes in Dubai (Pic: Getty Images for HSBC/IRB)
Judicial Officer Nick Davidson QC said he found Lui’s actions were deliberate.
According to IRB rules, the entry level mid-range is eight weeks. However, Lui’s six-week suspension last year for a spear tackle counted against him in today’s hearing.
The presiding officer also found mitigating features in “his demonstration of genuine contrition and his lack of any attempt to qualify or seek to lessen his offending.”
Lol Lui was therefore suspended for the next seven Samoan games in the HSBC Sevens World Series.
Samoa are included in the line-up for the USA leg in Las Vegas on February 12-13.
08/02/2011 at 5:48 AM
Give him chance to shine that superstar of 7s rugby….we all want to see a good game shown by these professional rugby guys. give him chance to play….
08/02/2011 at 5:58 AM
my question to irb, how do we promote our rugby 7s in the usa without letting him play to drawal the intrest of this buseness in america??? give him warning and let lolo lui to play for the money side of things…it was nuthing so serious what he had done…he was play with one leg, he carry the pressure of his pain at the same time….i want to see that superstar on field in vagas this weekend…
11/02/2011 at 12:01 AM
no worry. there plenty stars in the samoan seven side. come on guys step up and shine. prove to the world that tama samoa e saili malo. tulai mai laia alo i ou faiva, ia ae malo. manu samoa ia tafe toto ou ala. manuia le faa-agatama.
13/02/2011 at 1:20 PM
Apparently Samoa supporters are unaware of the fact that Americans are not great fans of dirty players like Lui. We already have professional wrestling if we want to see someone get blindsided by a kick to the head while prone. Win American fans with good, clean play, if you want to win us.
13/02/2011 at 1:27 PM
I should have also mentioned that I have watched very little rugby, but seeing Samoan players grabbing England players by the throat, throwing elbows, etc sort of made up my mind about the team. The obvious malice was a turn off, and if it continues to feature in the Sevens I will probably lose interest in the thing.
18/02/2011 at 5:29 AM
J dont forget you always have 8 players on the field every time you play..we have only 7 players at the same time you have 8 because you need that raf to join your team because you useless hahaha. we have eyes to watch this game often…pacific islanders team try their best in the hard way lucky if they win infact the ref doesnt wearing his white, green, or black jersy hehehe