Ireland appeal Healy’s ban

Ireland last night launched an appeal against Cian Healy’s three-week ban, although it will not be in time to prevent him from missing Sunday’s RBS 6 Nations clash with Scotland.

Championship organisers Six Nations Rugby Ltd (SNRL) confirmed last night that the IRFU had formally appealed against the decision of an independent Disciplinary Committee last week to impose a three-week playing suspension following Healy’s citing for a stamp on England’s Dan Cole during the match in Dublin on February 10.

Healy had been cited the following day and the loose-head prop admitted guilt to the charge at the hearing on February 13. The appeal, however, relates to the specific period covered by the three-week playing suspension, which is due to end on midnight of Sunday, March 10, ruling the player out of both the Scotland and France games.

Given that suspensions begin from the date of the citing, in this case, February 11, that constitutes a 27-day ban in real time. That caused confusion last week when Leinster believed Healy was available for selection for last Saturday’s RaboDirect Pro12 fixture against Zebre, only to be told by Ireland head coach Declan Kidney that the prop’s suspension had already begun.

There were also public comments made by Kidney which suggested that the length of the suspension was lacking in clarity, prompting a testy clarification from the Six Nations last Friday.

“I do not think anyone present at the hearing on Wednesday was in any doubt that Mr Healy is not free to play again until after midnight on 10 March,” disciplinary committee chairman Roger Morris wrote, in a letter quoted by SNRL.

Kidney and the IRFU received the written judgement earlier this week, on the basis of which Healy’s appeal has been launched.

The judgement outlines the three options open to the independent disciplinary committee and states it chose the one it did, “in real time this would be 27 days but in rugby weeks, three weeks”, “on the balance of probabilities” and after accepting Kidney’s assertion “at face value” that he “would not let him play” against Zebre on February 16 but that it was “highly possible” Healy would be required to play for Leinster in the next club match due to be played during the course of the Six Nations, namely next Friday, March 1, at Newport Gwent Dragons.

The IRFU will argue that the high possibility of Healy playing for his province against Dragons would mean a three-week suspension ending at midnight on March 3, thereby freeing the prop to face France on March 9.

Either way, Healy will not play this weekend at Murrayfield, Tom Court having been selected instead.