Highlanders prop Daniel Lienert-Brown has been found guilty of dangerous contact in a ruck during the side’s win over the Blues.
The front-rower will miss up to three games for the Highlanders, who are currently fourth on the Super Rugby Pacific ladder.
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Lienert-Brown was red carded during their eight-point win in Dunedin, with the contact upgraded from a yellow card during the game.
The 32-year-old chose to challenge the initial citing, with the Judicial Committee ruining the incident warranted a mid-range entry point of six matches after finding him guilty.
The Judicial Committee applied the full 50 per cent reduction of sanction as a result of mitigating factors such as his disciplinary record, remorse and conduct.
The decision means the front-rower will miss the Highlanders’ clash with Moana Pasifika along with next week’s match against the Hurricanes.
Lienert-Brown can reduce his ban to two games if he completes tackle school, making him available for their March 22 game against the Queensland Reds.
The prop’s red card saw the Highlanders reduced to 13, with the hosts forced to drop another man on account of their inability to have sufficient players for a contested scrum.
It came as a result of injuries to Ethan de Groot and Saula Ma’u, with the Highlanders defying the setbacks to secure the win.
Reds centre Hunter Paisami was the other player cited over the weekend; however, Paisami and the Reds opted to take the early guilty plea.
Paisami received a similar ban and will be available for the Reds’ clash against the NSW Waratahs on March 15.
