John Ryan out of Northampton Saints clash as Munster's appeal fails 

the veteran tighthead was named on Munster’s bench at noon on Friday, pending the outcome of an appeal, which has now failed.

BAN UPHELD: Munster's John Ryan during the warm-up. Pic: Ben Brady, Inpho

John Ryan’s appeal against a three-match suspension has been dismissed by an independent disciplinary panel, with Munster instead turning to academy prop Mark Donnelly as tighthead replacement for Sunday’s Champions Cup Round of 16 clash at Northampton Saints.

Ryan on Thursday had seen the yellow card he was punished with for a tip tackle against Cardiff captain Liam Belcher last Saturday upgraded to a red card having been cited post-match, with the three-game ban ruling him out of the European knockout trip to the English Premiership leaders.