George Moala will slot straight into the Blues team to play the Rebels in Melbourne following his discharge without conviction today.
Moala discharged without conviction after bar fight
The Blues have held off naming their team for Friday night's match until tonight, probably partly because of the sentence hanging over their midfielder and partly because of the injuries which have struck them in the past week.
Had Moala, who has performed well for the Blues this season, been convicted, he wouldn't have been able to travel quite apart from whatever action his employers the Blues and New Zealand Rugby had decided to take. Those convicted of a crime need a special visa to travel to Australia, and, with the game only days away, Moala and the Blues would have run out of time to apply for one.
A statement from the Blues today said: "With the judicial process complete, there remains an employment process to be concluded by the Blues and New Zealand Rugby over the next few weeks.
