All Black winger Sitiveni Sivivatu has been found guilty of serious misconduct by the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) over an assault on his wife.
Sivivatu was discharged without conviction by a New Zealand court over the assault last month after pleading guilty, with the judge saying the publicity surrounding the case was sufficient penalty.
But he also faced an NZRU hearing for being in breach of his contract.
The 25-year-old Fijian-born player received a formal warning and agreed to counselling, the NZRU said in a statement on Wednesday.
”Siti has faced the courts, and as a result of that verdict was subject to intense public scrutiny,” NZRU deputy chief executive Steve Tew said.
”In the context of our misconduct process, it was important to ensure that any additional punishment from the NZRU was commensurate with the offence.
”The formal warning puts him on notice that we take the matter very seriously while the requirement for counselling is to help Siti work to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.”
Sivivatu, who has scored 14 tries in 12 Tests for the All Blacks, said he was looking forward to being able to concentrate on his rugby in the future.
”My wife and I are pleased with this result and we will move forward together from now on,” he said.
He was charged after police were called to his home on March 19 after twice slapping his wife. — Sapa-AFP