United States flanker John Quill has been banned for three matches and will likely miss the rest of the World Cup campaign after he was sent off in his side’s Pool C defeat against England in Kobe Thursday.
Quill was shown the first red card of the tournament by referee Nic Berry when his shoulder made contact with the head of England’s Owen Farrell in a no-arms tackle with about 10 minutes remaining in the match, and the incident resulted in a melee between both sides.
“The committee applied World Rugby’s mandatory minimum mid-range entry point, which was introduced in 2017 to to mitigate protect player welfare, deter high contact and prevent head injuries,” World Rugby said in a statement after the hearing.
“This resulted in a starting point of a six-week suspension.
“Having acknowledged Quill’s good character and conduct at the hearing, the committee reduced the six-week entry point by three weeks, resulting in a sanction of three weeks, which equates to three matches in the context of the Rugby World Cup.”
The US are unlikely to advance to the knockout stage with three tier-one teams — England, France and Argentina — also in the pool and only two places available for the quarter-finals.
The Eagles next face France in Fukuoka on Oct. 2 before they meet Argentina on Oct. 9 and finish the pool phase against fellow tier-two side Tonga on Oct. 13.