Three Ireland players have avoided disciplinary action over two separate incidents during the 42-27 loss to France in the Six Nations on Saturday.
France had referred Calvin Nash, Tadhg Beirne and Andrew Porter to the Six Nations disciplinary committee over the incidents which ultimately saw French captain Antoine Dupont and centre Pierre-Louis Barassi out of the game.
However, the referrals have since been dismissed by the citing commissioner.
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Dupont was injured after Beirne fell on his leg during a ruck in the 29th minute, which referee Angus Gardner deemed a rugby incident. The 28-year-old had to be assisted from the pitch by France’s medical team, Maxime Lucu coming on as his replacement.
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On Sunday, the scrumhalf confirmed he ruptured his cruciate ligament and now faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
“My heart hurts even more than my knee when I have to abandon my friends before the last step. I’m proud of what we achieved yesterday and with all my strength with you, you’re going to do it,” Dupont wrote on Instagram.
He added the injury marks the start of a new challenge for him, but added he will be back on the field “in a few months”.
Speaking after the game, France’s head coach Fabien Galthié said the actions of Beirne and Porter in the clear-out were “reprehensible”.
The visitors also cited Nash, who was shown a yellow card on 47 minutes for a head-on-head collision with Pierre-Louis Barassi. The French centre went off for a HIA after the collision and did not return to the game.
“We are angry. We want to protect our players,” Galthié said at the post-match press conference. “There are means, [there are] rules. The [citing] commissioner must study the actions that are reprehensible or not. Neither Antoine nor Pierre-Louis returned to the pitch. One for a cleaning, the other for a contact.”
He added: “We feel bad for [Antoine]. In terms of the action, in my opinion it was reprehensible, and there are ways to study and analyse it. We feel for him today. He is suffering and we are suffering with him.”
