IRELAND will not have Sean O’Brien available for Sunday’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final against Argentina after the flanker received a one-week suspension for striking an opponent.
Television cameras spotted O’Brien quite clearly punching France’s Pascal Pape during Sunday’s 24-9 win, though the referee missed the incident at the time.
The matter was dealt with by the governing body World Rugby, who reduced O’Brien’s ban from the usual two weeks to just one because of his previously good disciplinary record.
A statement from World Rugby read: “The suspension takes effect immediately, therefore O’Brien is suspended for Ireland’s quarter-final match against Argentina on Sunday, 18 October, 2015. He is free to resume playing on 19 October, 2015.”
The IRFU have 48 hours to appeal from the moment they were informed of the decision, but have shown no indication that they plan to as yet.
Ireland face Argentina at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Sunday with a kick-off time of 1pm.
