Ulster number eight Nick Williams will miss the rest of the season after receiving an eight-week suspension for striking in last the Guinness Pro 12 match against Cardiff Blues on Friday March 27th.

Williams was found guilty of striking Cardiff Blues outhalf Rhys Patchell during the game at Ravenhill.

The 31-year-old from New Zealand was sin-binned after the incident in the sixth-minute. Patchell received on-field treatment and spent a night in hospital as a precaution.

Cited under Law 10.4(a) the disciplinary committee, chaired by Roger Morris from Wales, "found that the incident was at the top end of the World Rugby sanctions for this type of offence, meriting a 16 week starting point".

The statement continued: “In the absence of any aggravating factors and in light of several mitigating factors, including the player’s exemplary previous playing record, the disciplinary committee applied an eight week reduction from the entry point and suspended the player from playing for eight weeks.

“Taking into account the matches remaining this season, and two warm-up matches scheduled for the start of next season, Nick Williams is free to resume playing from Monday, 1 September 2015 and has the right of appeal.”