Ban rules Carre out of Wales' Six Nations opener

Saracens prop Rhys Carre has had an eventful Wednesday of wildly different emotions. 

In the morning he was chosen in Wayne Pivac’s Wales squad for the upcoming Guinness Six Nations. However, he learned later in the day that he will not be available for selection for their opening match of the tournament due to suspension. 

Wales are due to play Italy in Cardiff on February 1, but Carre has been banned until two days later following a three-week suspension meted out at a disciplinary hearing.

Carre was sent off by referee Alexandre Ruiz in the fourth minute of Saracens’ Heineken Champions Cup win at Ospreys last Saturday. 

The French official believed he has tackled Dan Evans in a dangerous manner in contravention of Law 9.13 and a committee consisting of chair Philippe Cavalieros (France), Donal Courtney (Ireland) and Yannick Jauzion (France) backed the referee’s decision. 

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The hearing found that Carre had made contact with Evans’ head in a dangerous manner, deciding that the offence was at the mid-range of World Rugby’s sanctions.

They selected six weeks as the appropriate entry point. However, as there were no aggravating factors, and taking into account the player’s guilty plea, clear disciplinary record and expression of remorse, the committee reduced the sanction by the maximum of 50 per cent before imposing a three-week suspension. 

Elsewhere on the disciplinary front, Glasgow Warriors’ Callum Gibbins has been suspended for two weeks for striking Exeter’s Jacques Vermeulen with his shoulder while Toulouse’s Zach Holmes has been suspended for four weeks following his red card for tackling Connacht’s Tiernan O’Halloran in a dangerous manner.

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