Ulster star Tom O’Toole has been hit with a six-game ban for the red card he received against Munster, ruling him out of the province’s remaining Champions Cup pool matches and the opening rounds of the Six Nations.
It’s a heavy price for the prop to pay after he was dismissed for a dangerous clearout on Alex Nankivell.
The impact left the Munster centre facing a lengthy spell out and the type of action O’Toole was found guilty of is under a major focus from referees who are on the lookout for players dropping weight on an opponent at the ruck or targeting the lower limbs.
O’Toole’s ban has been backdated to include the win over Connacht over Christmas, and will see him sit out Ulster’s trip to Leicester and home game against Exeter Chiefs as well as their meeting with Zebre Parma which he would have missed if he’d been part of Simon Easterby’s squad who will be preparing for the Six Nations in Portugal that weekend.
However, O’Toole won’t be on board given he’s been banned for the matches against England at home and Scotland away, with Easterby confirming to URC officials that the 26-year-old would have been included in the Irish Six Nations squad which will be named in the next fortnight.
Ulster will miss the prop who starts their biggest games at tighthead, while O’Toole was named as Finlay Bealham’s back-up for Ireland’s November defeat to New Zealand and win over Australia, while he covered loosehead against Fiji.
Uncertainty over Tadhg Furlong’s fitness enhances the sense that O’Toole’s ban is a blow, although Leinster’s Thomas Clarkson has impressed this season and Oli Jager is back fit and can improve his chances with some big displays for Munster in the coming fortnight.
Furlong has not played since October, but Leinster have been cautiously optimistic about him returning this week. Dan Sheehan is another who is said to be close to be getting back on the pitch in the immediate future.
O’Toole will be available for Ireland’s remaining Six Nations games, having admitted that he’d committed an act of foul play that warranted a red card.
That admission earned him a 40 per cent mitigation, with judicial officer Sheriff Kathrine Mackie adjudging that the incident merited a 10-week suspension initially.
A previous 2022 red card for foul play meant there was no further mitigation.