By Finau Fonua

'Ikale Tahi hooker Paula Ngauamo is being forced to miss seven games for his French club Agen as punishment by the World Rugby for kicking the head of an opponent during the Tonga’s final match of the 2019 Rugby World Cup against the United States last weekend. 

Ngauamo’s punishment was decided by a judicial committee in a hearing that took place in Tokyo on 15 October. The committee was chaired by Alan Hudson (Canada), former Springbok Stefan Terblanche (South Africa) and former referee Valeriu Toma (Romania).

The World Rugby released a media statement saying, “The player admitted that he had kicked his opponent in the face and accepted this was at least mid-range offending as he had made contact with his opponent’s head.”

“The committee agreed and applied World Rugby’s mandatory minimum mid-range entry point, which was introduced in 2017 to protect player welfare, deter high contact and prevent head injuries.”

Ngauamo is the 11^th player of the 2019 RWC so far to be banned from playing games and his suspension is also the heaviest.