Flannery ban halved

Ireland hooker Jerry Flannery has had his eight-week ban for stamping on Clermont's Julien Bonnaire halved to four weeks by an ERC disciplinary appeal committee.

Ireland hooker Jerry Flannery has had his eight-week ban for stamping on Clermont's Julien Bonnaire halved to four weeks by an ERC disciplinary appeal committee.

Flannery, who had been set to miss the entire Six Nations, will now be able to play again on February 21, meaning he could play a part in Ireland's match against Scotland at Croke Park on Saturday February 23, and in the final two matches against England and Wales in March.

The initial disciplinary hearing had adjudged the contact between Flannery's boot and Bonnaire's head to be deliberate, and had as such imposed a top-level disciplinary sanction of eight weeks for the offence.

However, the appeal committee, comprising Professor Lorne Crerar (Scotland), HHJ Jeff Blackett (England) and Russell Howell (Wales), found that the act had been reckless rather than deliberate, and decided on a mid-level sanction of four weeks.