WITH the right to appeal the decision, Munster and Ireland’s long standing servant in Cappamore’s John Hayes, was handed down a six week suspension from the IRFU disciplinary panel following the incident with a stamp on Leinster’s Cian Healy during last weekend’s Magners League encounter at the RDS.
Hugh Logan, assisted by Stephen Hilditch and Neil Jackson of the IRFU, held the hearing in Belfast on Tuesday of this week where the big prop faced a three man panel who reviewed video footage as well as hearing submissions of evidence.
Hayes’ red card came as the first blemish on a career that has seen him lift, a Celtic Cup, a Magners League title, two European Cups, Triple Crowns as well as a Six Nations crown.
The Lion and Irish international was sent from the field of play last Saturday in the 54th minute of the game for a breach of rule 10.4 (b) comprising of a stamp on the Leinster prop.
The disciplinary statement read; “John Hayes received a red card under law 10.4 (b) for a stamp on Leinster player Cian Healy in the 54th minute of the game. Having studied the match footage and heard all available evidence, the disciplinary panel confirmed that the offence constituted a high end entry level in terms of sanctions. Having also considered all mitigating factors, the panel imposed a six week suspension from the date of the offence on Saturday, 3rd October up to and including Saturday, 14th November. The player has the right to appeal this decision”.
Hayes and the Munster staff will await the written report from the IRFU before deciding whether or not to lodge an appeal but in it’s current guise, the ban will see Munster’s most capped tighthead miss the opening two games of the Heineken cup but be available for selection the day before Ireland’s first game in the international series against Australia in Croke Park.
Munster manager, Shaun Payne, who accompanied Hayes to the hearing, was recorded in a statement as saying that; “John regrets the incident happened at all. He has had a long and unblemished professional rugby career spanning 12 years and would not be regarded by anyone, including opponents, as being a dirty player. He is very disappointed with the sanction, given the committee accepted the action wasn’t intentional yet decided the entry point for the offence to be at the higher range, the nine weeks reduced to six in mitigation”.
The belief that Hayes’s was not looking to the ground at the time would suggest that the panel upheld the notion that the player’s actions were not deliberate.
Nonetheless, the popular Munster prop will be assigned a position, most likely in the stands of Thomond Park, if he attends at all, for the opening battle in the Heineken Cup that his fellow men in red face. Clearly not the place you would want to have such a player.
