Blues wing Tele'a cops three week suspension

Blues winger Mark Tele'a has been suspended for three weeks after being red carded for a lifting tackle in his side's loss to the Queensland Reds last Friday.

Tele'a's tackle on Tim Ryan in the 31st minute earned him a yellow card which was later upgraded to red.

The Super Rugby Pacific foul play review committee found Tele'a guilty of a lifting tackle in contravention of Law 9.18.

The review committee found the act merited a mid-range entry point of six weeks/matches.

In a statement today, the committee added: "In light of the player accepting he committed an act of foul play as well as mitigating factors such as his prior disciplinary record, the FPRC applied the full 50% reduction in sanction."

He was suspended from all forms of the game for three weeks which applies to the following Super Rugby Pacific matches:

Tele'a, who has scored 13 tries in 19 Tests for the All Blacks, announced earlier this month he will play in Japan next year.