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Manu Samoa are down to just 29 available players for the remainder of the RWC pool stage. Hooker Motu Matu’u and center Rey Lee-Lo were both handed three-game suspensions for dangerous tackles during the match against Russia, the judiciary determining that their yellow cards were deserved of red.
Lee-Lo’s suspension will include Samoa’s matches against Scotland, Japan, and Ireland. Matu’u had been due to miss the match against Scotland on Monday due to a head injury, so his suspension will carry through to the Quarter Final should Samoa qualify. As they are suspensions, the team cannot call replacement players into the squad.
Also dropping out of the squad is Afa Amosa, who suffered a ruptured MCL in his knee in the act of scoring against Russia. The ball-carrying No8 has been replaced by flanker Alamanda Motuga, a sevens specialist whose only test appearance came as a replacement against Tonga in the Pacific Nations Cup.
