Red-carded O'Mahony banned until round five of the Six Nations

Ireland back row Peter O’Mahony won't be available to appear in the Guinness Six Nations championship again until his team's round five match versus England on March 20 after he was banned from their next three matches. O'Mahony was red-carded by referee Wayne Barnes just 13 minutes into Ireland's defeat to Wales and he will now miss next Sunday's game at home to France, as well as the following games versus Italy and Scotland.   

A statement from the Six Nations read: "Ireland back row forward appeared before an independent disciplinary committee, comprised of Mike Hamlin (England), Frank Hadden (Scotland) and Val Toma (Romania), via video conference. 

"O’Mahony received a red card during the Wales vs Ireland match on February 7 at the Principality Stadium for an infringement of law 9.20 (a) and (b) (dangerous play in a ruck or maul) in the 13th minute of the match.

"The player admitted the act of dangerous play in a ruck and that the offending merited a red card. The player did not seek to challenge the referee's decision. The committee considered all the relevant evidence, including the player's oral evidence, together with the clips of the incident.

"In assessing the seriousness of the offending, the committee found that the offending was reckless. They were satisfied that the player's conduct breached World Rugby law 9.20(a), in that he charged into a ruck. Charging includes any contact made without binding onto another player in the ruck or maul. The committee noted that the offending involved reckless contact with the head of the Wales No3 (Tomas Francis).

"As the conduct involved contact with the head, although noting that no injury was suffered by the Wales No3, the committee determined that the entry point was mid-range, which for this offence is six weeks. It was accepted that there were no off-field aggravating factors, and the disciplinary committee concluded after careful consideration of the player’s record and conduct in the hearing, that the player was entitled to a 50 per cent reduction of sanction in mitigation. 

"The player is suspended from February 7 to March 14, which represents three meaningful matches to the player. The player is free to play again on March 15."