Appeal date set for Sheahan

Rugby:  The date for Frankie Sheahan's appeal against his two-year suspension has been set for Monday, September 1st, in Dublin, while the composition of the independent appeal committee has also been decided.

The appeal comes just five days before Ireland's final warm-up game against Scotland and six days prior to the announcement of the 30-man squad for the World Cup.

The three-man appeal committee will consist of Jeff Blackett (chairman, England), Jeff Probyn (England) and Dr Roger Evans (Wales).

The make-up of the committee was decided by Professor Lorne Crerar, who is chairman of the Six Nations and ERC disciplinary committee, in accordance with the guidelines for independent disciplinary hearings in both competitions, whereby such panels comprise members of the legal and medical professions with expertise in anti-doping and a former player with experience of disciplinary matters.

Blackett is a judge advocate of the British Royal Navy as well as the chief disciplinary officer of the RFU in England. Dr Evans is a consultant in emergency medicine who is also the Welsh RFU representative for the International Board medical advisory committee. Probyn, a former English prop, has sat on many disciplinary committees.

An independent judicial tribunal imposed a two-year suspension on Sheahan on Friday, July 11th, due to the presence of a prohibited substance (salbutamol) in a sample collected from the player after the Heineken Cup semi-final between Toulouse and Munster on April 26th.

The tribunal - Prof Crerar (chairman), Prof Donald MacLeod and Peter Brown - found that the player's level of salbutamol was 20 times higher in the sample collected after the semi-final game than in a sample collected from the player after the quarter-final game against Leicester.

Meanwhile, the final two places in the Munster squad have been finalised with the announcement that the New Zealand-born, Irish-qualified tight-head prop Mike Storey and the Australian-born, Welsh-qualified centre Jason Jones Hughes have signed contracts with the increasingly cosmopolitan Celtic League champions.

Storey (27), a former Auckland Blue before joining Saracens in January last season, is currently playing with Northland, having returned to his native New Zealand after featuring in the Zurich Premiership wild card play-off against Leicester Tigers (May 31st). Storey holds an Irish passport and is eligible to play for Ireland.

Jones Hughes had a highly publicised and contentious switch from Australia to Wales in 1999, winning three caps for his adopted country in that year's World Cup. Injury derailed his international career in the interim, though he did play for Newport in Munster's memorable 39-24 win at Rodney Parade three seasons ago.

As with Munster's high-profile summer signing Christian Cullen, Storey will join after his NPC commitments while Jones Hughes will link up with Munster immediately.

"I am really very pleased with the quality of the two players we have now added to the squad," commented Alan Gaffney.

"Mike Storey was an Auckland Blue and did a stint with Saracens this season past and I think that says all that needs to be said about his stature in the game.

"I've known Jason since he was about 15," added Gaffney. "He was Australian A as a youngster before opting to play with Wales. The Australian selectors fought hard to keep him, rightly recognising his huge talent.

"Jason opted to pursue his international career with Wales and won his caps during the 1999 World Cup. I'm really excited about him realising his huge promise in a Munster shirt."