Flyhalf Keith Robertson will leave with the rest of the Hong Kong squad for Japan tomorrow for the Tokyo Sevens this weekend, despite receiving a three-match ban from the International Rugby Board.
Robertson (pictured) was red-carded against Japan for spear tackling an opponent during the knockout phase of the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens on Sunday. The severity of his misdemeanour was tagged as 'medium', which automatically meant a six-match ban, but a judicial hearing subsequently reduced it to three games.
'Keith will be travelling with us even though he will miss all the action on the first day. He is an important player and will be hugely missed on the field, but at the same time this gives an opportunity for another player to make a mark,' said Hong Kong national coach Dai Rees.
Hong Kong is pooled with New Zealand, Australia and the United States in the preliminary round at the Tokyo Sevens.
'He will miss all these three games but be available for the second day,' Rees said. 'We didn't appeal against the red card, for the fact of the matter was that the tackle was dangerous under the new IRB directives.
'Although his offence came under the medium category, due to his exemplary disciplinary record and the fact that there was no malice in the tackle, his ban was reduced by 50 per cent to only three matches.'