Fijian Drua’s Frank Lomani was sent off in Friday night’s Super Rugby Pacific clash after a hard elbow to the back of the head from his Melbourne Rebels opponent.
Josh Canham was left bloodied after the game as Lomani faced calls for a long spell on the sidelines for the brutal attack.
“Frank Lomani has had a brain explosion,” Wallabies legend Tim Horan said in coverage.
“Now he’s let his team down. They were trying to get the game back and he gets a red card.”
Lomani seemed aggrieved after receiving the red card, even though it was an obvious sending off.
Elbows to the back of the head are banned in sports such as the UFC due to the higher risk of permanent brain damage compared to strikes to the front of the head.
Teammate Jone Koroiduadua also received a red card after attempting to headbutt Rebels hooker Alex Mafi.
“There was definitely frustration, but that’s no excuse. I apologize to the people at home for the two red cards, which were costly,” Fiji coach Mick Byrne said after his team’s 41-20 loss.
“The players need to find a way to sort out their discipline if we want to get our season back on track.”
In Friday’s other game, a woeful Western Force were thrashed, held without a try in a 50-3 win over the Blues at Eden Park.
Force captain Nic White admitted his team had not shown the intensity needed to take on one of the best groups in the competition.
“Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire and we lost what seemed like most of our initial battles,” he said.
“We knew the contact zone was going to be important for us, but we didn’t win enough.
“They are a great team, we know it, I think everyone knows it, a great and powerful team.
“We tried to move them but we didn’t do it enough.”
AAP/ABC
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