Siya Kolisi. Photo: Gallo Images.
Siya Kolisi will be free to lead the Springboks in Saturday’s Test against Wales in Cardiff.
World Rugby on Monday announced that the flanker would only be issued a “warning” from the citing commissioner for “striking with the head” in the weekend’s 26-20 win over Scotland.
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Footage had emerged shortly afterwards, where Kolisi attempted to break himself free after being held on the ground by Scottish counterpart Pete Horne.
The blow didn’t look pretty, but the governing body ruled that the action didn’t warrant a red card.
“Having reviewed the video angles, the Citing Commissioner determined that there were mitigating factors which meant that the action did not meet the red card threshold,” World Rugby said in a statement.
“The player (was) being illegally prevented from re-joining the play by Scotland’s Pete Horne. (There) was moderate force (to) the strike to the side of the head. The match officials did not see the incident at the time on the field of play.”
However, the warning will form part of Kolisi’s disciplinary record, which can influence the sanctions handed to him for future offences.
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