Ulster’s Iain Henderson has red card decision overturned

Ulster and Ireland received excellent news in that Iain Henderson has had the red card he received for an incident in the Guinness Pro12 game against Munster at the Kingspan stadium last Saturday essentially overturned by an independent disciplinary committee.

Welsh referee Nigel Owens brandished the card after watching footage on the big screen at the stadium and deciding that Henderson had led with and made contact with his head on Munster's replacement wing Ronan O'Mahony at a ruck during the second half.

Slow-motion action replays confirmed that Henderson did not make contact with his head on but rather his arm and that proved decisive in having the card rescinded per se.

A disciplinary committee, chaired by Roger Morris, along with Rhian Williams and Ray Wilton (all from Wales), having viewed the footage of the incident and listened to representations by and on behalf of Mr Henderson, decided that the act did not warrant a red card.

The statement continued: “Having viewed the incident in close-up (which the match referee had not been able to do at the time), the Disciplinary Committee concluded that the player’s initial contact with his opponent had not in fact been with his head but with his arm. The Disciplinary Committee imposed no sanction on the player, who is free to resume playing immediately.”

Henderson, who has been in brilliant form of late for the province, will be free to play in Ulster’s crucial Pro12 game against the Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun on Saturday afternoon.