French lock Paul Gabrillagues has been handed a six-week ban for an incident of foul play which went unpunished during Saturday’s 32-3 win over Scotland.
The act of foul play occurred in the 17th minute of play as Gabrillagues was noted to have made contact with an opponent’s head while entering a ruck.
A disciplinary committee deemed that the
act was intentional, took place with considerable pace and force which caused
the opposing player to sustain an injury.
With that in mind the committee decided that
the incident deserved high-level punishment, which World Rugby usually gives a
minimum of a 10-week ban for.
However, the towering lock admitted his
guilt and apologised before the committee reviewed the evidence which helped in
them cutting his ban to six-weeks.
The six-week ban however means that he will
be unable to play until midnight of October 6th by which time France
will have not only played their remaining World Cup warm-up games but also their
first three pool games at the tournament against Argentina, the USA and Tonga.
He would therefore only be available for
the final pool game against England on October 12th and any
knock-out matches should they qualify to the next stage.
The news could put his place in the squad
at risk as head coach Jacques Brunel may choose to replace him with a player
that can feature in any game.
It comes as another blow to the French who
lost centre Geoffrey Doumayrou to injury last week and could now face having to
replace another player before the tournament has even begun.
