WELSH LOCK BRADLEY DAVIES will miss the rest of this year’s Six Nations to serve a seven-week ban for a “tip tackle” on Ireland’s Donnacha Ryan.
Davies learned his fate at a disciplinary hearing in Heathrow today after he was cited for the incident, which took place during the second half of Wales’ 23-21 win at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday.
Replays showed that Davies clearly lifted and inverted Ryan before dropping him from a height, but after consulting with his assistant Dave Pearson, referee Wayne Barnes decided that a yellow card was sufficient punishment at the time.
A statement from the independent Six Nations Disciplinary Committee today said that the incident “merited a top end entry to the IRB’s table of sanctions.”
But in light of Davies’ “admission of guilt, his previous good disciplinary record and his conduct at the hearing,” his suspension was reduced from 12 weeks to seven and he will be eligible to return to action on 26 March.
One of Davies’ first games back is likely to be at the scene of the crime when the Cardiff Blues travel to Dublin to take on Leinster in the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup on 7 April.
Ireland’s Stephen Ferris is also due to appear in front of the disciplinary committee in London this afternoon. Ferris was cited after he conceded the game-winning penalty and received a yellow card for a “tip tackle” of his own on Welsh lock Ian Evans in the final minute.
A verdict in Ferris’s case is expected shortly after 3pm today.
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