Munster Rugby not ruling out Gerhard van den Hever suspension appeal

Munster have still not ruled out an appeal against the two-week suspension handed to wing Gerhard van den Heever, meaning there is an outside chance the in-form South African could be available for one if not two rounds of the Champions Cup this month.

Munster open their Pool 4 campaign at Thomond Park against Treviso tomorrow (5:15pm) with van den Heever in the frame for a wing berth following a run of good form in the early weeks of the Guinness Pro12. Yet he was potentially ruled out on Wednesday of that and next Sunday’s trip to Stade Francais after receiving a ban for tackling an Edinburgh player in the air during last Saturday’s win.

Munster only received written notice of the PRO12 disciplinary committee’s decision yesterday evening, the point at which the player has 48 hours to consider whether to exercise his right of appeal.