O'Connell likely to appeal ban

RUGBY NEWS: MUNSTER ARE expected to appeal the four-week suspension handed down to Paul O'Connell yesterday by an ERC-appointed disciplinary hearing, though they will await receiving the written judgment before doing so.

However, with the hearing not taking place until yesterday, there is little or no chance they will be able to have the appeal heard before tomorrow’s return Heineken Cup match with the Ospreys.

By contrast, the Welsh region were able to have their appeal against the two-week ban handed out to flanker Marty Holah last Wednesday by the ensuing Friday, when a Welsh disciplinary hearing upheld the appeal and cleared him to play against Munster in the Heineken Cup last Sunday.

Munster might also take encouragement from the All Blacks’ appealing Keven Mealamu’s four-week ban for headbutting England’s Lewis Moody last month, which succeeded in reducing the hooker’s suspension from four weeks to two, thereby making him eligible to play in their final tour game against Wales.

O’Connell was red-carded in the 69th minute of last Sunday’s match at Thomond Park by referee Christophe Berdos (France) for striking Ospreys player Jonathan Thomas (number eight) in contravention of Law 10.4 (a).

O’Connell, accompanied by his solicitor Donal Spring and Munster team manager Shaun Payne, attended a disciplinary hearing in Dublin yesterday, where the ERC disciplinary officer, Roger O’Connor, presented the case against the player.

It is understood that Berdos admitted he had erred in believing O’Connell had elbowed Thomas, but according to an ERC statement: “After hearing submissions from both parties and considering the evidence, the independent judicial officer, HHJ Jeff Blackett (England) upheld the red card and determined that the act had been deliberate but that there had been no intention to injure Mr Thomas.

“The independent judicial officer found that the offence was in the mid-range (entry point: five weeks) of the level of seriousness for an offence of this type. Having taken into account any mitigating factors, such as Mr O’Connell’s good disciplinary record, the independent judicial officer reduced the suspension from the entry point by one (1) week which resulted in the final suspension of four (4) weeks. Mr O’Connell will be free to play from January 10th, 2011.”

O’Connell had never been red-carded in his career and had only once been suspended, for two weeks, and had only made two appearances off the bench for Munster in his long-awaited comeback, after being sidelined with a problematic and rare groin injury since Ireland’s loss to Scotland last March. He last started for Munster in the final pool game last season in January against Northampton.

He will now be ruled out of the return match against the Ospreys tomorrow in Swansea, and the Magners League games away to Connacht on St Stephen’s Day, at home to Ulster on New Year’s Day and at home to Glasgow a week before returning for the penultimate Heineken Cup pool game away to Toulon on the third weekend in January and the concluding pool game at home to London Irish a week later.

However, as these will be his only two games before the Six Nations opener against Italy in Rome on February 5th, the news is not only bad for him, especially, and Munster, but even to a degree Ireland.

Some Munster and Irish players are no innocents themselves when it comes to provocative gestures, be it tugging jerseys or whatever, and Stephen Ferris has had to endure slagging from team-mates and publicly express his regret for his theatrics in the Ireland-Samoa match. Nor could Thomas be blamed for going to the ground given the apparent impact of O’Connell’s forearm on his jaw. But, potentially, decisions such as this one will open up a can of worms for the game.

As one former interprovincial coach, who wished to remain anonymous, put it, yesterday’s decision “is going to encourage jersey pulling because the cynical action of the Welsh player resulted in Paul O’Connell getting four weeks while the reality is the referee who had seen it, or the touch judges, should be giving serious sanctions to the players who pull jerseys.

“If the player who pulls the jerseys, which has always been a source of rows in rugby, are not sanctioned severely, there will be more incidents such as this.” He added: “And that it’s clear that O’Connell was reacting to the jersey pulling. There’s now a danger that the game will go the way of soccer with diving and that players will set out to pull other players’ jerseys to cause them to react and give away penalties or get themselves sin-binned or sent-off.”

Irish Suspensions

Alan Quinlan12 weeks

Munster v Leinster, Croke Park, May 2nd, 2008, Heineken Cup semi-final. Shortly after being named in the Lions squad to tour South Africa, Quinlan was suspended for 12 weeks when video evidence showed he had made contact with the eye area of Leo Cullen. The ban was upheld on appeal and he missed the Lions tour. When Schalk Burger was yellow-carded by Christophe Berdos for gouging Luke Fitzgerald in the first minute of the second Test, at the behest of touchjudge Bryce Lawrence, his ensuing 12-week ban was reduced to eight weeks on appeal.

John HayesFour weeks

Munster v Leinster, RDS, October 3rd, 2009, Magners League. Hayes was initially given a six-week ban when red-carded for stamping on Cian Healy before an appeal, when his previously exemplary disciplinary record saw the suspension reduced to five weeks.

Shane Jennings12 weeks

Leinster v London Irish, RDS, October 9th, 2009, Heineken Cup. The Leinster flanker was banned for 12 weeks for making contact with the eye area of London Irish's Nick Kennedy in this Heineken Cup opener, despite Kennedy's admittance that he had over-reacted at the time, and the appeal was upheld by a committee chaired by England's Christopher Quinlan.

Jamie HeaslipFive weeks

Ireland v New Zealand, New Plymouth, June 12th, 2010.

Heaslip was red-carded by Wayne Barnes for kneeing Richie McCaw at a ruck close to the All Blacks' line in the 15th minute, with the score 10-0. Ireland went on to lose 66-28.