RUGBY:Niall Woods, the chief executive of the Irish Rugby Union Players Association (IRUPA), last night expressed his outrage on behalf of the players' union over the decision by an ERC disciplinary panel to reject Munster's appeal on behalf of Alan Quinlan against a six-week suspension.
An ERC-appointed independent appeals committee chaired by Rod McKenzie (Scotland) and also comprising Robert Horner (England), found that Munster did not establish any error on the part of the original committee's decision and refused the appeal. Matthew Lohn (England), who was part of the original appeal committee, was unavailable for the reconvened hearing in Dublin this week.
Another ERC-appointed independent disciplinary committee had applied the sanction on December 20th when Quinlan had admitted to stamping in Munster's Heineken European Cup match against Cardiff Blues at Thomond Park on December 16th.
"It is an absolutely scandalous decision," commented Woods. "It is ridiculous to begin with that the process took so long but the decision itself is utterly inconsistent with other suspensions handed out to players by disciplinary panels recently.
"How can Danny Grewcock, with his record, receive a one-week ban for stamping and Alan Quinlan, who has had no yellow cards in the Heineken Cup for six years, be suspended for six weeks? The players now have no faith at all in the game's disciplinary procedures, and I know that to be the case.
"This will affect Alan's earnings and could hugely impact on his season. It's about time that the game's governing bodies and their disciplinary panels realised that these decisions are affecting players' livelihoods."
The original disciplinary committee, chaired by Christopher Quinlan (England) and also comprising Bruce Reece-Russel (England) and Iain Goodall (Scotland), had held Quinlan responsible for the medial ligament injury sustained by Cardiff's Mark Lewis when Quinlan stamped on the calf of the Cardiff player. However, Munster and Quinlan disputed this assertion, and in the original hearing Dr Conor McCarthy, an IRFU doctor, maintained it was highly unlikely that Lewis' injury was caused by Quinlan stamping on Lewis' ankle.
Furthermore, they sought to introduce previously unseen video footage that apparently showed Lewis grimacing when two Munster players fell on his leg seconds later, but the appeals committee insisted no new evidence could be introduced at the appeal. Similarly, they would not hear further evidence from Dr McCarthy based on him seeing these new video angles.
In the last few weeks alone there are plenty of other examples of the inconsistency in the disciplinary process. In addition to Grewcock, the Bath hooker Lee Mears also received a one-week ban for stamping in an English Premiership game.
This decision rules Quinlan out of Munster's remaining European Cup pool games and the start of the Six Nations, and permits him only one Munster game in a 10-week period. Thus it effectively ends his hopes of playing in the Six Nations and, by extension, could conceivably rule him out of the World Cup and even mark the end of the 32-year-old's international career.
Coming on top of the shoulder injury that sidelined him for six months last season and the knee injury that ruled him out of Munster's opening two European Cup matches, it is a cruelly-timed blow for the Munster flanker.
While Quinlan was left to swallow particularly bitter medicine, Munster collectively bit their lips and suppressed what must have been acute anger.
"I'm just disappointed. All my other thoughts I'll hold to myself and channel them in the right direction," said coach Declan Kidney, who added that Quinlan had "trained like a good professional would" yesterday.
Munster captain Paul O'Connell admitted: "It is very tough for him. He was playing great rugby and only we know how hard he worked to get back from first his shoulder and then his knee. But it's a tough sport and you've got to take these knocks and I think it's testimony to the team and to his mental strength that he keeps coming back in better form and I'm sure he will again."
The loss of Quinlan is at least offset by last week's return of Anthony Foley, who seems sure to start alongside Denis Leamy and David Wallace in the backrow against Bourgoin in Geneva this Sunday. Jerry Flannery, out of action since pre-season, was also named in an enlarged 28-man squad yesterday, which aside from Quinlan, did not feature the injured Trevor Halstead or John O'Sullivan.
Munster are expected to bring about 2,000 supporters to the Stade de Geneve where Kidney said "the facilities look excellent". The Munster coach revealed that "the pitch length is five yards shorter and one yard narrower", which will make it more difficult to open up "a seriously good side".
Having dominated Biarritz up front in last Friday's 9-0 win in the Top 14, Kidney believes that "they'll ride on the confidence of that this week. The club is on show this week, before a dead rubber against Cardiff". Moving the tie to Geneva, he maintained, will probably make it tougher for Munster to win.
MUNSTER SQUAD (v Bourgoin):Forwards: F Pucciariello, T Buckley, J Flannery, A Foley, J Hayes, M O'Driscoll, M Horan, P O'Connell, C Wyatt, D O'Callaghan, D Leamy, F Sheahan, D Wallace, A Kiriacou, J Coughlan, D Hurley; Backs: C Cullen, J Kelly, T O'Leary, J Manning, R O'Gara, M Lawlor, P Stringer, S Payne, I Dowling, B Murphy, L Mafi, E Hickey.
