Tuitupou, who was yellow carded for the incident, pleaded not guilty but was given the suspension after submissions on behalf of Hodgson and ERC Disciplinary Officer Roger O’Connor.

The ruling from independent judicial officer Simon Thomas determined that Tuitupou’s offence was at the lower end of the scale meaning an automatic three-week ban.

But he was given an extra week to deter others from similar tackles, which was then balanced with a week off for his conduct at the hearing.

An official ERC release read: “The independent judicial officer increased the suspension from the entry point by one week to take into account the need for a deterrent to combat this type of offending, and then balanced this by decreasing the suspension by one week to take into account Mr Tuitupou’s conduct at the hearing, which resulted in the final suspension of three weeks.”

The former All Black will be free to play again on November 1 and will miss Magners League fixtures against Benetton and Ulster as well as the this weekend’s match at Thomond Park.