The Heartland Championship province South Canterbury has been fined $4,500 and will lose two bonus points for breaching player eligibility regulations in three recent games.
South Canterbury admits exceeding the maximum number of foreign or loan players that can be named in a match-day 22 after fielding a Fijian player.
The player was incorrectly categorised as a local when he did not arrive in New Zealand until after the date required at the start of June for him to qualify as such.
The points deduction means South Canterbury drops from third to fifth on the Heartland Championship competition points table.
