Jean de Villiers hit with two-week suspension

Jean de Villiers, the South Africa back, will miss the Tri Nations match against Australia on Saturday due to a two-week suspension he received yesterday. De Villiers had been cited for an alleged lifting tackle on Rene Ranger, the All Blacks winger, in the 27th minute of the Springboks' loss to New Zealand in their Tri Nations Test on Saturday. He appeared in Wellington yesterday before the judicial officer Dennis Wheelahan, who found De Villiers guilty after he considered submissions from the player, his representatives and video evidence.

De Villiers is suspended until August 1, meaning he will miss the match in Brisbane but be available to play against the All Blacks in Johannesburg on August 21. He is the second Springboks player to be banned in this year's competition. Bakkies Botha, the abrasive lock, was suspended for nine weeks after he admitted headbutting Jimmy Cowan, the All Blacks' scrum-half, in the 32-12 loss last week at Eden Park.

The wingers Drew Mitchell and Cameron Shepherd were added to Australia's squad yesterday. Robbie Deans, the Wallabies coach, had named a 28-man squad for the Tri Nations and surprisingly dropped Mitchell after he had appeared in all four of Australia's Tests in June. Deans said at the time he would add an additional two players before their opening clash with South Africa. Meanwhile, Uruguay will face Romania for the final place at the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

Both sides claimed easy home play-off victories on Saturday. Uruguay crushed Kazakhstan 44-7 in Montevideo while Romania, who have taken part in all six previous World Cups, beat Tunisia 56-13 in Buzau. The teams will contest a two-leg play-off in November. The winner earns a place in Group B of the finals with Argentina, England, Scotland and Georgia. * Agencies