WELLINGTON - Ardie Savea has found himself in hot water. The Hurricanes captain has been suspended from playing for a week, after making a throat-slitting gesture to an opponent.
The incident happened during an encounter with the Melbourne Rebels on Friday.
The 29-year-old received a yellow card just before the incident.
READ: All Blacks star Savea sorry for throat-slitting gesture
He then proceeded to run his thumb across his throat after a verbal altercation with Rebels halfback Ryan Louwrens.
He later apologised for the incident, but a judiciary committee saw it fitting to hand him the suspension.
The committee says Savea displayed ‘unsportsmanlike play’ which cast a cloud over his team’s 39-33 win.
Former All Blacks winger John Kirwan spoke out saying Savea was being punished harshly considering that the same gesture is often used in the haka.