JERRY FLANNERY’S disciplinary hearing will be held in a Dublin Airport hotel this morning after the Munster and Ireland hooker was cited for an alleged kick on France’s Alexis Palisson during last Saturday’s Six Nations defeat at Stade de France.
The alleged offence comes under rule 10.4c (kicking) which is more serious than a tripping 10.4d (tripping) offence. A tripping offence carries a sanction ranging from two to seven weeks and a kicking offence a sanction of four to 12 plus weeks at the higher end.
It is expected the outcome of the hearing will pivot on whether the player’s legal team can successfully demonstrate the alleged kick on the French winger in the 23rd minute was unintentional and that as a hooker the effort was due to awkwardness rather than malice, or, a dangerous loss of composure.
Flannery may also try to persuade the committee that in his position in the frontrow, he does not normally, during the run of a match, kick the ball, or, if he does kick, it happens irregularly.
If he played at fullback or outhalf, where kicking is a critical part of the required skill set, the disciplinary committee could look on the incident as being more serious.
The committee will be chaired by Roger Morris of Wales, alongside John Doubleday and Mike Hamlin, who are both from England. The system used in the Six Nations Championship is not adversarial but inquisitorial. Flannery will first make a plea. The committee will then view the incident and read any related paper work. This could come from the referee or Citing Commissioner, or could be submitted by the French player, who was fouled or by his medical team, if a medical report has been made. The committee then determines the level of seriousness of the offence.
Another important issue for Flannery could be how strongly the French officials press the case and what sort of report the player and team officials present to the disciplinary committee, if any. Given the recent past, Flannery cannot expect any favours there. Palisson was forced off with a dead leg after the incident and could be deemed fortunate not to have suffered a more serious injury.
But two previous high-profile cases are also still in train, both of them concerning Flannery’s teammate Stephen Ferris and French players. Ferris was gouged twice during an Ulster Heineken Cup match against Stade Français in Belfast last December. Ferris voiced his outrage over the incident and the case was widely covered.
International scrumhalf Julien Dupuy was subsequently banned by an ERC Disciplinary Committee for 23 weeks, a suspension that generated fury in France and will cause the player to miss the entire Six Nations Championship. That case now seems destined for the French courts.
The other player involved, David Attoub, has appealed against a 70-week ban and that will be heard in London on March 2nd. The prop currently cannot play until April 22nd, 2011.
The Irish hooker escaped with conceding a penalty at the time of the incident. But the minimum suspension would still rule him out of the England game at Twickenham on February 27th and the Wales match at Croke Park on March 13th. He could return for the final game at home to Scotland on March 20th.
Should he be suspended, Ulster’s Rory Best, who has come back from a neck injury months ahead of schedule, is first in line to take charge of the number two jersey.
Regarding other injuries in the Ireland squad, more will be known about the condition of Rob Kearney’s knee injury tomorrow and he remains a doubt for the game against England. There is less concern for Brian O’Driscoll, John Hayes and Leo Cullen, who are progressing as expected.
