The elusive winger has been suspended for two games for a dangerous tackle.
Nareki received a yellow card in the 59th minute of the 31-26 win against the Waratahs in Dunedin on Saturday.
He made contact with the head of Waratahs’ prop Jack Barrett. The card was upgraded to red during the match.
The Super Rugby Pacific foul play review committee (FPRC) added to the penalty. They found Nareki, who usually plays on the wing but started at centre for the first time in his Highlanders career, guilty of a dangerous tackle.
‘‘It is an interesting one,’’ Dermody responded when asked about the sanction.
‘‘We get the rules, and we understand that head contact is not part of the game.
‘‘We’ve obviously had our fair share of ones on the other side. We’ve lost players with pretty hard hits to the head with not as much sanction.
‘‘But it’s definitely out of our hands. We understand we’ve got to protect the players.’’
The FPRC said the act warranted a mid-range entry point of six weeks, but applied a 50% discount because Nareki acknowledged the foul play and had a good disciplinary record.
They took a further week off because they felt the punishment would be disproportionate.
The two-week ban means Nareki will not be available for the game against the Chiefs on Friday night and the Hurricanes on May 23.
However, he was given permission to apply to take part in World Rugby's coaching intervention programme as a substitute for the final match of the sanction.
That has opened the door for Nareki to continue his trial run at centre in the Highlanders’ final round-robin game of the season.
