The fallout from Garry Ringrose's controversial three-game suspension has spilt over into the weekend, with Leinster's head coach and the French Rugby Federation coming out with glaringly differing statements on the application of the ban.
The Irish centre was handed down a three-game suspension for his high tackle on Ben Thomas during Ireland's Six Nations defeat of Wales. However, Ringrose will serve just one of them in the Six Nations, with 'tackle school' reducing the ban by one game, and Leinster's URC clash with Cardiff also counting towards the suspension.
While the 'tackle school' reduction is commonplace in today's game, the decision to include Leinster's URC clash with Cardiff has caused outrage in world rugby, with fans questioning how France's Romain Ntamack was refused permission to include Toulouse's clash with Clermont Auvergne in his near-identical ban earlier in the tournament.
As many bemoan the perceived double standards, Leinster head coach Leo Cullen has jumped to the defence of his star centre speaking to RTÉ, rubbishing the idea that Ringrose would not have been available for selection.
"I’m not sure what contact has been made behind the scenes but like simplistically, Garry hasn’t played a huge amount during the Six Nations, has he?" said Cullen.
So he’s available for us this weekend. Just like Jack Boyle obviously played in the same game where Garry got banned, so Jack Boyle is playing in the game.
If Garry gets off, he's available for selection for us this week so we’ve obviously got that choice.
Regardless of the controversy and application of the ban, Leo Cullen also revealed his belief that the tackle merited no suspension and little more than a yellow card.
I’m looking at the red card, and I know there’s lot of commentary about it but in terms of mitigation, if you look where Garry’s knee is, pretty much on the ground when the contact is made, and there’s quite a late change from the ball-carrier. My understanding is there’s mitigation there, so that goes from red down to yellow.
It’s still a penalty and yellow-card offence, so it’s still a foul, but I don’t think it’s a red-card offence.
14 February 2025; Leinster head coach Leo Cullen before the United Rugby Championship match between Ospreys and Leinster at Swansea.com Stadium in Swansea, Wales. Photo by Chris Fairweather/Sportsfile
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French Rugby Federation statement glaringly different Leo Cullen's
Cullen's claims, however, come in stark contrast to that of the French Rugby Federation who have already contacted World Rugby to question why the application of their out-half's ban differed to that of Garry Ringrose's.
"We were very surprised when we learned of the decision of SNRL (Six Nations Rugby Limited) concerning Garry Ringrose, in comparison with the terms of application of the sanction that had been imposed on Romain Ntamack" claimed FFR vice-president Jean-Marc Lhermet speaking to Midi Olympique.
The two cases seemed very comparable to us. This is why we contacted World Rugby for a request for explanations. We need to be enlightened as to what could have motivated such a difference.
What we see, looking back, is that Garry Ringrose never played for his province in these matches during the Six Nations Tournament.
With the information at our disposal, nothing suggests that this would have been the case this time. That is why we have made a request for explanations.
It is believed that the main difference between the suspensions lies in an agreement the French Rugby Federation hold with Top 14 clubs that allows them to protect 20 players from returning to club action during Six Nations fallow weeks.
No such formal agreement exists in Ireland however, with the Six Nations accepting that the IRFU could have made Ringrose available to Leinster, but refuting the claims that France would have made Ntamack available to Toulouse.
Fortunately for Ireland, Garry Ringrose will now be available for the country's final weekend clash with Italy, where they will likely be competing for a third successive Six Nations title and possibly even a Grand Slam.
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