The Wallaroos have received mixed news at the Judiciary with Scotland hero Ash Marsters suspended for three games whilst Adiana Talakai has been cleared to play in Saturday's crucial clash with Wales.
The pair were red-carded in the dying moments of last week's 14-12 victory, forcing the team to scramble down to 13 for their first win over the World Cup.
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Marsters had a major impact from the bench, barging through the Scottish line with a series of brutal carries before diving over the line to put Australia in front.
However, the physicality came back to haunt her after collecting replacement half Sarah Law in the head with four minutes to go, with referee Lauren Jenner issuing a red card.
Whilst the Rebels hooker argued the tackle did not meet a red-card threshold, World Rugby maintained their decision, handing down a three-week ban.
"The player did not accept that she had committed the act of foul play or that the offence was worthy of a red card. Having considered the player’s evidence and reviewed the clips, the Committee decided to uphold the red card," they said in a statement. "The Committee applied World Rugby’s mandatory minimum mid-range entry point for foul play resulting in contact with the head. This resulted in a starting point of a six-week suspension
"The Committee took into consideration the mitigating factors and decided that the player was entitled to the full mitigation available (three weeks). The Committee decided there were no aggravating factors and therefore the final sanction was a three-week suspension.
Marsters will miss the final pool match against Wales, available if the Wallaroos make the semi-finals pending completion of World Rugby's Coaching Intervention Programme.
As for Talakai, the Waratah was cited in dramatic fashion after the Australians had looked to have sealed the win, with the TMO picking up the contact on Lisa Thomson amid celebrations.
The incident was deemed a yellow card-level offence, Talakai's second for the match after deliberately collapsing a maul on their goal line, leading to a penalty try.
As a result, World Rugby concluded the send-off was sufficient and no further sanction was necessary.
With the prospects of both hookers on the sidelines, the Wallaroos were preparing for all outcomes before findings were handed down on Monday, confident they can handle any disruptions.
“We’ve put a couple of game plans in place for the worse and best-case scenarios, having those to fall back on keeps us reasonable comfortable that we can work all week to put them in place,” assistant coach Sione Fukofuka said on Monday.
“It’s one of those things we’ve been really consistent around our messaging that it’s a 32-player effort in preparations. Whether it’s in camp or in the lead up to the Test, we’ve tried to rotate our players through and give them opportunities.
“In our ‘Test match Tuesday’ sessions, it’s been a perfect opportunity to play in those scenarios so we’re pretty comfortable they will do the job.”
Marsters' suspension paves the way for Brumbies hooker Tania Naden to make her debut, with Madison Schuck, Liz Patu and Emily Robinson amongst several options within the squad experienced at the position.
