British and Irish Lions star cited after sickening clearout on Wallabies rookie is missed by the officials
British and Irish Lions hooker Dan Sheehan and an inset of Wallabies fly-half Tom Lynagh.
British and Irish Lions hooker Dan Sheehan will face an Independent Foul Play Review Committee (FPRC) after his clearout on Tom Lynagh.
Sheehan escaped punishment for his actions in the first half when he flew into a ruck and made contact with the head of the Wallabies fly-half.
The hooker’s right arm was tucked, and the pivot was in a defenceless position, which resulted in a nasty-looking clearout with his shoulder.
Dan Sheehan cited
TMO Marius Jonker surprisingly missed the incident and failed to alert referee Nika Amashukeli even when Lynagh was forced off the pitch and replaced by Ben Donaldson in the 33rd minute.
A failed HIA meant that the Wallabies playmaker would not return to the pitch in the second half.
While Sheehan was not punished for his actions during the match, World Rugby have confirmed that he has been cited by independent citing commissioner Adrien Menez.
“British & Irish Lions player Dan Sheehan will have a citing complaint reviewed by an Independent Foul Play Review Committee (FPRC) after being cited by the independent citing commissioner Adrien Menez for an act of foul play contrary to Law 9.20 (a),” the World Rugby statement read.
“In line with World Rugby’s expedited off-field sanction process, Sheehan’s case will be considered by the on-duty Independent Foul Play Review Committee (FPRC) comprising Wang Shao-ing (chair), Val Toma and Mike Mika on Sunday, 3 August 2025.”
Law 9.20 (a) states that “A player must not charge into a ruck or maul. Charging includes any contact made without binding onto another player in the ruck or maul.”
If found guilty, Sheehan will be banned in accordance with the following sanction entry points.
Low-end: 2 weeks/matches
Mid-range: 6 weeks/matches
Top-end: 10+ weeks/matches
Max: 52 weeks/matches
https://t.co/lmduYjvZPm pic.twitter.com/M5q2HF9ywx
— Steve Lenthall (@steve_l15) August 2, 2025
Joe Schmidt’s take
Speaking after the 22-12 victory over the Lions, Wallabies boss Joe Schmidt was asked about the incident in his press conference.
“I haven’t really had a good look at it,” he said. “I’ve got massive respect for Dan. There’s a few things like that that will happen in a really physical contest.
“For us with Tom, he is still a young kid and we’ll try to look after him and make sure that he’s fully fit on the back of getting that knock. But I had a good chat to him after the game and he’s pretty resilient.
“In live, we didn’t see [the] incident, and it was probably a little bit later that we got a glimpse of it, and that’s all I’ve seen so far. I’d rather not comment on it until I’ve seen it but there’s always a difficulty for a TMO, I guess. He’s watching in the main, the TV broadcast and then if he doesn’t pick it up there, then he doesn’t access the other angles because everything’s happening so quickly.”
