SNRL issue statement clarifying confusion over Healy’s suspension

Not that Leinster picked him but after two days of confusion surrounding Cian Healy’s three-week suspension, RBS 6 Nations Championship organisers felt sufficiently moved yesterday to issueclarification on the matter.

Both the Ireland and Leinster camps had over the last 48 hours made known their view that the ban handed out to the loosehead prop on Wednesday after Healy pleaded guilty to a stamp on England’s Dan Cole was lacking in clarity. As they saw it, the return to play date was midnight on Sunday, March 10, yet the length of the suspension was six days more than the independent Disciplinary Committee which heard Healy’s case had meted out to the player in London on Wednesday.

The flow of information was such that Leinster, privatelyaggrieved that the disciplinary committee had presumed their selection policy did not include Healy for this weekend, believed they were entitled to select him for this evening’s RaboDirect Pro12 home game against Treviso, until Ireland head coach Declan Kidney said he understood the ban was already in place.