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Ban means Jonathan Danty will miss the rest of the Six Nations
By Liam Heagney
France midfielder Jonathan Danty will miss the remainder of his country’s troubled Guinness Six Nations following his suspension for last Sunday’s red card in the draw with Italy.
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The La Rochelle centre was initially yellow carded in Lille, but his foul play was upgraded to red during the interval and he didn’t return to the field of play for the second half.
His absence severely impacted the French as they couldn’t build on their 10-3 first-half advantage, only securing a 13-all draw after Italy’s Paolo Garbisi hit an upright with a last-gasp penalty kick.
Danty will now miss France’s remaining two matches versus Wales and England, as well as three La Rochelle games. However, his successful completion of tackle school would scratch the last game of that ban and free him to face the Stormers in the Investec Champions Cup round of 16 match on April 6.
A Six Nations statement read: “The independent disciplinary committee consisting of Jennifer Donovan (chair, Ireland), Leon Lloyd (England) and Stefan Terblanche (South Africa) heard the case and considered all the available evidence and submissions from the player and his representatives.
“The player admitted that he had committed an act of foul play and that it had been worthy of a red card. The disciplinary committee accepted that the player had acted recklessly, and not maliciously or with intent. The committee also highlighted that the player had accepted guilt at the earliest opportunity and shown immediate remorse on the field of play.
“On that basis and applying World Rugby’s mandatory sanctioning provisions, the disciplinary committee concluded that the incident warranted a mid-range entry point of six weeks suspension.
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“Mitigating factors (the player’s apology, acknowledgement of guilt and good conduct at the hearing) were applied, reducing the six-week entry point by two weeks. However, one further week was added for aggravating factors (the player’s disciplinary record) resulting in a five-week playing suspension.
“The sanction is to be served as the following given the player’s upcoming schedule:
March 9 or 10 – La Rochelle vs Stade Français (Top 14) OR Wales vs France (Six Nations);
March 16 – France vs England (Six Nations);
March 23 – Bayonne vs La Rochelle (Top 14);
March 30 – La Rochelle vs Oyonnax (Top 14);
April 6 – Stormers vs La Rochelle (Champions Cup).
“The player has additionally been given permission to apply to take part in World Rugby’s coaching intervention programme to substitute the final match of his sanction which is aimed at modifying specific techniques and technical issues that contributed to the foul play.”
