Ireland centre Garry Ringrose was given a three-match ban by an independent disciplinary committee on Thursday for a dangerous tackle during his team’s 27-18 win over Wales.
Ringrose was initially shown a yellow card for the infringement before it was upgraded to a 20-minute red when video referees saw his head collide with Ben Thomas’ as he went to make a tackle.
World Rugby’s sanctions meant Ringrose could have faced a six-game ban for his actions, however the punishment was halved owing to Ringrose’s guilty plea, previously good disciplinary record and his obvious remorse and apology for the incident.
He will now miss Ireland’s games against France in Dublin and Italy in Rome in the Six Nations, as well as a Leinster fixture later in March.
The Leinster game could be removed from the ban should Ringrose choose to take part in World Rugby’s Coaching Intervention Programme, which aims to modify specific techniques and technical issues.
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